


Chat Room

by zeke899



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: But will be eventually, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Identity Reveal, Not reverse love-square, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-10 21:43:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13510353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeke899/pseuds/zeke899
Summary: Chat Noir decides enough is enough and begs Ladybug to talk to him outside of the suit via a chat room. She agrees and with that comes a snowball of events.





	1. Chapter 1

Marinette wasn’t one to make rash decisions, especially when it came to her secret identity. But when a persistent black cat had begged her for weeks, her rational brain gave in. She knew Chat wanted to know her real identity and despite what she’s said to him, she wanted to know his as well. It would certainly make communication easier. Not to mention if there was a problem with their human self, it wouldn’t leave the other unknowing as to what could have happened.

So when Chat had proposed the crazy idea to exchange numbers, of course Ladybug said no, and with reason. Whether Chat meant to or not, Ladybug saw it as a sneaky way to reveal their identities. Whether it be that they know each other out of the masks or not, finding someone through a phone number isn’t too hard. So immediately Chat’s idea was struck down. That didn’t stop him there though. He thought of purchasing cheap phones to text through and again, Ladybug turned it down. She wanted nothing to do with phone numbers of any sort, so for a while, Chat stopped his pestering.

It started back again when he asked about making a Ladybug and Chat Noir profile online. That way they could make an email detaching themselves from their civilian selves, attach it to the profile and text through the messaging system there. Ladybug’s reason for saying no this time was the the off chance someone discovered them, maybe pretended to be each other and get dirty information off of them. Chat thought that that was pretty extreme but let it slide anyways.

His last attempt was to to create a chatroom only they would have the link to. Before Ladybug could disagree with some crazy reason not to, he stopped her and continued to explain. There would be no reason anyone else but them had access, since it was only them with the link. Even if it was monitored by the creators of the domain in the first place, it wasn’t as if anyone was going to reveal too much of their personal lives anyways. Chat just wanted to… well… chat and Ladybug wasn’t opposed to getting to know her partner a little more.

Fast forward to a week later after a quick patrol around the city late at night, Chat met up with Ladybug on the roof of the museum and handed her a slip of paper containing the direct link to the room he created. He explained that there was no log-in needed in order to talk and was happy to explain that the site supported mobile format so they could talk out of just home. Ladybug was a little skeptical on that part of the plan. She felt paranoid that anyone could peek over and read what she was doing, but to her relief Chat explained that upon entering the room, they could create any name for themselves rather than just Ladybug and Chat Noir. She took the slip of paper and read the random assortment of numbers and letters, wondering if this was going to bite her later on. She waved Chat goodbye and headed home.

Marinette gave her kwami a cookie before the small creature headed to sleep for the night. Meanwhile, the bluenette sat at her computer desk, spilling in half-circles wondering if she should really go through with Chat’s idea. There was no harm and she told herself countless times that neither of them will reveal anything too personal.

Eventually she finally booted up her PC and typed in the URL. The title Chat had given the chat room was ‘Finally a place to ‘chat’ eh?’ She couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped and shook her head. Further down, it asked for a name and the color she wanted her name to be displayed as. At first she was just going to use ‘Ladybug’ with red text, but then worried if someone were to ever come across these messages, she should use something else. She thought of all the qualities about Ladybug she could use, but when she was going to give up her last thought was what she says before turning into Ladybug. After she typed the name and chose red for her color, she hit enter and already there were a few messages from ‘Black Cat.’

**Black Cat:** Honestly I couldn’t think of a better name, so if you’ve got any ideas, I’d be happy to change it :)

**Black Cat:** Glad we’re finally able to talk out of suit now.

**Spots On** **:** I guess black cat seems fine. So… what do you want to talk about?

**Black Cat:** Well how was your day?

**Spots On** **:** Not bad. Nothing exciting in school and chatted with a friend before heading home. You know the rest. How was yours?

**Black Cat:** Same as you, M’lady. Just some other things involved. Don’t think you want me to go into detail.

**Spots On** **:** No, but thank you :)

**Black Cat:** Of course, m’lady.

**Black Cat:** Hey, LB, do you ever think we know each other out of the masks?

**Spots On** **:** I doubt it. There’s thousands of people our age with our features.

**Black Cat:** According to the LadyBlog, you go to Collège Françoise Dupont… is it true?

 

Marinette’s fingers hovered over the keys, debating whether or not she should tell the truth. She knew Alya already knew, so there was no point in lying.

 

**Spots On** **:** Yeah. It’s how I know all of those students that have been akumatized.

**Spots On** **:** Do you?

**Black Cat:** Yeah, I do. So maybe we do know each other! That would be so cool, huh?

 

Marinette checked the time and typed out a quick response.

 

**Spots On** **:** It’s getting late, I should head to bed. I’ll be sure to ‘chat’ with you tomorrow though.

**Black Cat:** Can’t wait. ;o Good night!

**Spots On** **:** Good night kitty.

She took the paper containing the URL and folded it into her small purse before she laid down and tried to sleep. Constant thoughts of regret plagued her mind but felt a little at ease knowing that she could quit this communication any time and tell Chat face-to-face that she felt uncomfortable about it. The small possibility of either of them figuring out who they are without the masks is what worried her most. She just had to be careful with her words and she knew she could trust Chat to do the same.

 With that final thought, she drifted off to sleep.

 

“Marinette! You’re going to be late!”

 Marinette jumped out of bed, her phone tumbled to the ground with her blankets.

 “Oh no, I forgot to set an alarm!” she exclaimed as she hurried to get dressed. Tikki yawned and watched in the background, not wanting to be any sort of disturbance to Marinette while she had to get ready. After the bluenette was finally dressed, she held her small purse open for Tikki to fly into. As soon as the small creature sat inside comfortably, Mari closed it and rushed downstairs.

 “Have a good day at school!” her mother called out while her daughter ran out of the house with the wave of her hand. Marinette was happier than ever to live so close to the school, only arriving on campus just minute after she left her home. There, students were already piling inside, the first bell already rang. To avoid tripping to get to class on time, she held tight onto the railing of the stairs and half-jogged when on the second floor. Just as she passed the door frame to class, the bell rang, announcing the start of class. Her teacher gave her a look before returning to what she was writing on the board as Mari took her seat beside Alya.

 Panting out of breath, Marinette took her items out of her bag and skimmed over the assignment given for the night before passing it up towards Adrien.

“Late night?” he asked casually as he took the papers. Marinette’s eyes widened, not ready for conversation with Adrien just yet.

“Y-yeah! I uh was homeworking the finish-- I mean finishing the homework!” she laughed to herself, hoping her slip-up passed without a comment. Adrien just smiled and nodded in understanding before he took the papers and faced forward again.

After all of the papers were handed to the teacher, she began their first lesson of the day with a book passed out to the entire class, or half of it anyways.

“For this assignment, I’d like you and a partner of your choosing to read and analyze this book to the best of your ability. It’s all in English, so I don’t expect perfection, but I do expect your best.” She carried on to listing the requirements for completing the assignment along with explaining that there would only be one book for each pair of students.

Alya gave a knowing look towards Marinette and the color nearly drained from her face. As soon as the teacher asked the students to change seats so they could sit with their preferred partner, Alya shot up and shoved her things down to the first row and scooted in beside Nino. Shock covered the musician’s face and shrugged towards Adrien.

 “You can partner with Marinette,” Alya said casually towards the blond. Said blond gave an apologetic glance up towards the bluenette.

 “Is that alright with you?” he asked as he slowly picked his bag up. Marinette, unable to speak clearly for the moment, gave a firm nod and scooted in towards where Alya sat mere seconds ago.

“Perfect,” she mumbled so quiet it was almost a whisper.

“Cool!” Adrien took a copy of the small book and set it between the two, passing the rest of the stack back towards the group behind him. “So should we exchange numbers? So we can plan where and when to start the project.” Marinette nodded again and dug through her bag for her phone. She frowned and lifted her bag on her lap, hoping it was under her books.

 “I think I forgot my phone at home. I’ll give you mine and you can text it so I’ll enter it when I get home?” She lied. She already had his number, but she knew he didn’t have hers. Adrien agreed with her idea and passed his phone towards her, ready on making a new contact. She entered her name in with her number and passed it back. The blond took it, tapped a few times and if Marinette was being honest, saw a bit of a frown on his face. The worst thoughts plagued her mind.

 “I-is there something wrong?” she asked, praying it wasn’t her that upset him. He shook his head.

“No, just waiting for a friend to text back is all,” he said with a shrug and put his phone away.

 Marinette nodded in understanding and what he had said immediately made her think of Chat. She hoped he would understand that she wasn’t able to text him. Besides, it would only be for a few hours and knowing Chat, he would be just fine. He has lasted weeks without seeing Ladybug due to a short vacation not too long ago, so she wasn’t too worried about it.

 

The rest of the day carried on like any other. When lunch finally rolled around, Marinette invited Alya for a quick bite at the bakery and her friend declined, saying she wanted to sit with Nino for lunch. Marinette understood, so just as she had reached the final step in the short flight of stairs off campus, a hand tapped on her shoulder.

 “Hey, cool if I join you?” Adrien asked. Mari jumped from the initial contact and nodded.

“S-sure! You can have some sweets leftover, if you want!” she let out in one quick breath. Adrien chuckled to himself and nodded.

“I’d love that.” He always enjoyed the Dupain-Cheng bakery whenever he could, which was rare due to his strict diet. But what his father didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

 

The walk there was quiet, both teens simply enjoyed the other’s company. When they reached the curved building, Marinette held the front door open for Adrien and he nodded with a polite thank you before entering. When inside, the scent of freshly baked cookies and croissants surrounded the two. The blond’s mouth was nearly watering with how good it smelled. Eager to begin lunch, he placed his school bag on a table and sat there, taking out the wrapped box he bought for himself.

 “One minute while I go get my phone,” Marinette said before she walked quickly to the back of the shop and up the stairs to her room. There, she found her phone on the floor where it had fallen earlier. She took the slip of paper out of her bag and typed in the URL to her browser, typed her name she had on her PC and read the unseen messages Chat typed earlier that morning.

 

  **Black Cat:** Good meow-ning!

  **Black Cat:** Too early for puns, huh?

  **Black Cat:** Now I wonder what my lady is like in the mornings, hmm?

 

Marinette couldn’t help but release a sigh towards Chat’s messages.

 

**Spots On** **:** Sorry kitty, I didn’t have my phone on me. And mornings aren’t my cup of tea either.

 

After her message was sent, she returned back downstairs and sat across from Adrien at the circular table.

 “All set,” she smiled at him and he glanced down at his own phone briefly.

“I have fencing this afternoon, but I’m free tomorrow and over the weekend,” he said. “We can start our project then?” Marinette nodded in agreement.

 “We can do it here if you want. My parents love company and it’s not far from the school, so…” she trailed off.

“Perfect, any time is alright with you?” Adrien asked and Marinette nodded before taking a bite of her sandwich her mother packed earlier that morning. Most days she packed her own lunch, but she was thankful that her mom does it for her if she’s not awake early enough.

 “We should have plenty of time since all of her class will be for this project,” she mumbled between bites. Adrien flipped through the book written in English, only picking up a few words here and there before he set it back down.

“It’s not too long either, so I can just get photos of the pages,” he said as he turned to the first page and pulled his phone out of his pocket. If Marinette wasn’t paying attention, she would have missed the split-second smile that appeared on his face before it disappeared. He typed something quickly and proceeded to take images of each page. Marinette shrugged it off and finished the rest of her sandwich. She cleaned her side of the table off and tossed the remains in the trash before slipping behind the counter and picking two cookies out of the platter meant for friends and family. She handed one to Adrien when she sat back down and he took it gingerly.

 “Thanks Marinette,” he chuckled and took a bite. Immediately he let out a drawn out groan of approval. “I’ve got to come back here often,” he spoke with his mouth full, some crumbs falling out. Marinette laughed and handed him a napkin to which he replied with a muffled “thank you” and cleaned up his mess.

 “When you’re done, we should head back to class.,” the bluenette sighed, fully enjoying the time alone with her crush. She tapped on her phone and was pleasantly surprised to see a response from Chat. She quickly tilted her phone towards herself so Adrien couldn’t see and took a bite of her cookie.

 

**Black Cat:** So you’re a night bug huh?

  **Spots On** **:** I guess so. Maybe it’s just on patrol nights. Being out too late sucks after a while. And I’ve got class so I’ll do my best to respond.

 

She watched her phone for a few seconds, mildly hoping another message would immediately pop up but there was none. So she shoved her phone into her bag along with the book once Adrien was done taking photos. He typed another message before tucking his phone into his pocket.

“Ready to go, Marinette?” he questioned and she nodded for the seventh time towards him that day. She shoved the rest of her cookie into her mouth and hauled her bag over her shoulders.

“Let’s go,” she muttered between the bits of sweet biscuit and held the front door for Adrien yet again. He laughed another thank you and they began their walk towards campus.

As soon as the two teens arrived to class, they noticed Alya was in Nino’s spot while Nino was in Adrien’s. They were briefly confused but since the teacher wasn’t too strict on seating arrangements, neither were bothered by sitting next to each other again. Marinette took her seat where Alya usually was and Adrien to her right side. They then pulled out their tablets and started their notes for the rest of the hour.

Throughout the last couple of hours in school, Marinette was sneaky in hiding her phone when she texted Chat. Neither responded very well, but there was a start of a conversation moving along.

 

**Black Cat:** If patrols are lasting too long for you, I can give it a shot no problem. I don’t have much else to do and I live close enough to the school to not worry about being late.

  **Spots On** **:** No I couldn’t do that. I’ll see about cutting it down an hour earlier. I don’t know, I’ll figure it out. Besides, has there ever been an attack when asleep? Hawkmoth is an evil man, but even he needs to sleep sometimes

  **Black Cat:** You’re right about that. We can try it, finishing our rounds earlier. Makes me wonder who Hawkmoth could be.

  **Black Cat:** ...Do you still think it could be Gabriel Agreste?

  **Black Cat:** I mean he’s a busy man and all it doesn’t seem right

  **Black Cat:** Plus he was akumatized once and controlled by another akuma before.

  **Spots On** **:** I’m not sure. His way of living fits in the description of a villain. I’m just worried for his son, Adrien Agreste. If he ever found out his dad was a suspect, he would be torn.

  **Black Cat:** You know Adrien???

 

Marinette started at the last sent message from Chat and contemplated how far she was willing to share with him. If Chat went to Adrien and asked for a list of friends, it would be easier for Chat to identify who Ladybug is, especially when they go to the same school already.

 

**Spots On** **:** Kind of. I’ve seen him around. Other than on posters anyways. Do you know him??

**Black Cat:** We’ve run into each other every meow and then. ;o

**Spots On** **:** Ugh, can’t escape the puns even out of text.

**Black Cat:** Never  >:D

**Black Cat:** How do you know Adrien then? School? Friend?

**Spots On** **:** Honestly? I don’t think I want to share. Talking about people we know could lead down a spiral towards figuring out who we are. Nice try kitty.

**Black Cat:** Fine, be that way. :P I think he’s a cool guy. If you ever get the chance, say hi if you see him on campus. I promise I won’t say a word to him

**Spots On** **:** I have a hard time believing that, but whatever you say. I’ve got to go, final class doesn’t allow phones. :(

  **Black Cat:** Have fun!

 

Mari shoved her phone in her purse after reading the final message and hoisted her bag over her shoulder. Once she entered her final class, she found out there was a test and she was thankful. As much as tests weren’t fun, they did pass time faster than taking notes did. After the test was finished, she decided to get a head start on her English project with Adrien. She did feel a bit flustered talking about Adrien to Chat but maybe she could vent a little to Chat more than she could to Alya. Besides, it wasn’t as if Adrien would find out just as long as Chat would promise to keep quiet.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat and Ladybug have a little Q and A which brings up some personal information neither expected to hear.

**Black Cat:** Come onnnn it’ll be fun! Plus you don’t even have to answer them if you don’t want to and same goes for me, ok? 

**Spots On** **:** Fine, I guess I’ll play this silly 21 questions with you. 

**Black Cat:** Yessss ;D 

**Black Cat:** So what do you do in your free time? Hobbies and stuff like that.

**Spots On** **:** I craft stuff, usually. Won’t go into detail, but it ranges from clothes to picture books. Usually for gifts but I want to make a career out of it later.

**Black Cat:** Ooo can you make something for me? I’ll pay you! :D

**Spots On** **:** Hey, it’s my turn to ask a question :P

**Black Cat:** Fine ;(

**Spots On** **:** What do you like most about being Chat Noir? 

**Black Cat:** The freedom for sure. I have some fun as my civilian self, but I’m under strict rules and there’s nothing I can do about it. My future until I’m old is all planned out for me and becoming Chat changes it. Makes me feel like there’s something more than boring schedules all the time

**Spots On** **:** Aw… I’m sorry to hear. Hope it works out after we graduate :\ Assuming you’re in my same grade and all.   
  
**Black Cat:** Mew too… ;p So, back to my other question. Can you make something for me? :O   
  
**Spots On** **:** Well.. there’s no harm doing so I guess. What do you want?

**Black Cat:** I dunno, whatever you feel like this stray needs :D   
  
**Spots On** **:** Haha I’ll think of something then. 

**Black Cat:** So since you just asked me what I want, do I get another turn? :o   
  
**Spots On** **:** Hmmmmmm fine.

**Black Cat:** Besides word getting out and spreading to the public, why can’t we reveal ourselves to each other? 

**Spots On** **:** It’s just going to be dangerous overall. Hawkmoth could find out somehow and use it against us.

**Black Cat:** Yeah but if we’ve kept our own secret for a year now why would anyone else find out that we know who the other is? That doesn’t make sense is all I’m saying.

**Black Cat:** And our kwamis know who we are! I only remember Plagg about to say something and I think your kwami hushed him. If they know, then what’s the harm?

**Spots On** **:** I don’t know, Chat. Maybe we can talk to Master Fu about it… see what he thinks.

**Black Cat:** Who’s master fu??????

**Spots On** **:** He’s the guy that gave us the miraculouses in the first place to fight Hawkmoth. 

**Black Cat:** Seriously????!! I’ve got to meet him!

**Spots On** **:** Ask your kwami about him. Mine told me where he lives. One time Tikki, my kwami, was sick. But then there was an akuma so most of the fighting I had to do as a civilian.

**Black Cat:** When was that?

**Spots On** **:** I think when Rose was akumatized. Tikki was sick during the fight and she led me to a ‘doctor’ she knew. Turns out that the ‘doctor’ was the one that gave us our kwamis. Very nice man. 

**Black Cat:** I see. I’ll ask Plagg about it later. He’s my kwami. Pain in the butt too  >:p

**Spots On** **:** No way he could be a pain, really?

**Black Cat:** Well what’s your kwami like? Tikki? Bet you she’s a pocketful of sunshine and I got the thunderstorms with tantrums haha

**Spots On** **:** She’s not  _ always _ perfect, but she’s very supportive in lots of things I do. Especially with decisions LB has to make vs what my civilian self wants to make. Rarely do we disagree for long though. 

**Black Cat:** Boy would I give anything to trade you. All Plagg does is complain and when he’s not complaining, he’s sleeping and then complaining about that. Sure he has his meowments of greatness but it’s so rare

**Spots On** **:** Well you are unlucky after all ;p

**Black Cat:** Har har. Hey, I gotta go for a min. Talk to you later LB!

**Spots On** **:** I’ll be here!

 

Marinette clicked off of the chat tab on her computer and spun around to see Tikki floating quietly behind her. She jumped as soon as she saw the red creature and gripped her chair.

“Tikki! You can’t just sneak up like that!” she exclaimed. The red kwami giggled.

“Sorry Marinette, I just wanted to read what you and Chat talk about.” She floated towards the keyboard and sat beside the mouse, Marinette turned around to watch. “Do you think you’ll ever see who Chat really is?” she questioned. “I’m sorry, Marinette, I shouldn’t have eavesdropped on the conversation but I was curious…” Marinette started at her desk in thought.

“I don’t know, Tikki… A small part of me says to keep it a secret, but a larger part wants to know just to get it out of the way. Maybe because it’s the peer pressure from Chat I guess. But even then, without him pestering me about it, I’ve always been a  _ little _ bit curious at least.” Tikki couldn’t help but smile during Marinette’s answer.

“Well… You know I know who Chat is right? I’m not going to tell you, but I really think that it would be a good idea.” The small creature wanted to tell her owner, but she promised Marinette she wouldn’t. That didn’t mean she couldn’t talk to Chat if given the chance. In public where Marinette was far away of course. She wanted them to either figure it out for themselves or willingly reveal themselves to each other with no strings attached. 

The bluenette agreed. She did know each pro and con in the book to revealing themselves. She heard all the pros from Chat too often to count and the cons were slowly disintegrating into nothing. From there on it was a large chunk of excuses towards Chat’s advancements on the subject. But she knew she had to suck it up and live with whatever the superhero duo decided what would be best. 

 

**Black Cat:** Back! Miss me?

**Spots On** **:** In your dreams kitty. Just had a pleasant conversation about a certain stray with Tikki is all.

**Black Cat:** :O Do tell!

**Spots On** **:** I dunno if you could handle such information. Would be too much for your feline brain to handle ;p

**Black Cat:** :( rude. 

**Black Cat:** Fine, don’t tell me, see if I care. Still wanna continue our little question game?

**Spots On** **:** No harm done so far, so let’s go. You can go first.

**Black Cat:** Hmmm… Got a secret crush on anybody? ;)

**Spots On** **:** Um… yeah. Doesn’t everyone?

 

Marinette suddenly felt strange. She knew Chat’s flirts were meant to be more than just friendly, she was just curious as to why he would ask something like that.

 

**Black Cat:** Yeah I guess so. Would it be too much to ask who it is?

 

Mari thought for a brief moment.

 

**Spots On** **:** It doesn’t hurt I guess… You probably know him.

**Spots On** **:** Adrien Agreste. :\

 

After a solid minute of starting at her response to Chat’s question, she wondered if he was actually upset or angry. Of course he knew who the model was, they had just talked about him earlier. But there was something strange about that moment of silence that struck a chord with her.

 

**Black Cat:** Really?

**Spots On** **:** Why? Hard to believe?

**Black Cat:** Well every girl our age in Paris is all over him. What makes the kid so special anyways?

 

If Marinette was being honest, she could hear the venom of his statement dripping through his words.

 

**Spots On** **:** He’s more than just a pretty face, Chat. Don’t be rude.

**Black Cat:** I just don’t see what’s so special about the guy, honestly. He’s got the looks, money, and fame. A girl’s dream, right?

 

When she read those words, Mari’s fingers have never moved so fast to type before then.

 

**Spots On** **:** He’s more than that, Chat. I’ve met him, I’ve seen who he really is and all I can do is support him. He’s so kind, sweet, selfless. His dad controls his every move basically and after his mom went missing, his dad has been different to him ever since. He’s lonely and the thing he needs most right now are close friends by his side and even though him and I are popular in Paris, that doesn’t stop me from seeing him as a human rather than an object. So yeah, he’s much more than just a pretty face plastered on a poster.

 

After she hit enter, the bluenette felt a wave of relief to get that off of her chest. Never has she ever needed a reason to defend her little crush on Adrien because according to Chat, almost every girl their age had their hearts for him. But none of them really knew who he is besides what’s shown through photographs. 

 

Marinette never did tell Alya how her hatred towards Adrien turned to the massive crush she had later on. Her moment with him after school that day in the rain was a special moment to her (even if it was mildly embarrassing). From that day forward, she pledged to herself to be the best friend Adrien needed and to keep him looking forward to the future rather than being stuck in the present. 

 

**Black Cat:** Seems to me you love him, LB. ;p Lucky guy.

**Spots On** **:** Doesn’t matter if I do or not. I’m too much of a coward to tell him.

**Black Cat:** Awwwww the lovebug can’t tell her wittle crush she wikes him :o

**Spots On** **:** Hey! Okay fine, what about you, huh? Who’s your secret crush? I know you’ve got one, you’re such a tomcat.

**Black Cat:** I’m gonna go ahead and take that as a compliment, m’lady ;) And I dunno if I’m comfortable sharing that just yet. I’m more tempted to go to the Agreste kid now and tell him the news ;o

**Spots On** **:** You. Wouldn’t. Dare.

**Black Cat:** ;)

**Spots On** **:** I’m just going to leave this chat forever then. Nice ‘chatting’ with you but nope!

**Black Cat:** Wait!

**Black Cat:** Don’t go! 

**Black Cat:** I won’t tell him… just as long as you promise not to say something to uh…

**Black Cat:** Marinette.

 

The look on Marinette’s face couldn’t be described properly in words other than it was in complete and utter shock.

 

**Spots On** **:** Marinette? What’s her last name?

 

She was desperate for confirmation. 

 

**Black Cat:** Dupain-Cheng? The girl you had me escort during the Evillustrator. 

**Black Cat:** Why? Do you know something I don’t? ,’:o

**Spots On** **:** Kind of?

 

Mari wasn’t sure what to say. She swore on her life the answer would be Ladybug. Maybe he’d quit his advances because she wasn’t reciprocating? But why Marinette of all people? She’d only met Chat at most five times now. Or maybe he knew her out of his mask? The thought plagued her mind.

 

**Spots On** **:** Do you know her irl?

**Black Cat:** Kinda ;)

**Black Cat:** You explain what you mean first by ‘kinda’ knowing something I don’t.

**Spots On** **:** I’m not all too sure she’s interested… I don’t want you getting hurt, Chat.

**Black Cat:** Really? And here I thought she was drop dead ready to marry me hahaha. 

**Black Cat:** I know, LB. :) Thanks for your concern.  <3

  
  
Marinette rolled her eyes.

 

**Spots On** **:** So tell me how you know her.

**Black Cat:** We go to the same school :D Funny how the four of us are stuck in the same building for three hours at a time and we don’t even know it. Except Marinette and Adrien anyways. They know each other.

**Spots On** **:** She talks to me about him sometimes. Says he’s a real cutie ;o

**Black Cat:** Adrien? Really? What’s that guy got that I don’t.

**Spots On** **:** Other way around. He doesn’t have lame cat puns.

**Black Cat:** Meowch! I have feelings too, do I have to keep reminding you that? 

**Spots On** **:** I dunno, kitty. I’m not sure if a pun-master deserves such treatment.

**Black Cat:** Pun master? I’m honored. At your service, m’lady ;o

 

“Marinette! Your friend is here!”

 

Just as soon as the last syllable was announce from Sabine, Marinette minimized her chat with Chat and spun around in her chair to face her room’s entrance. Tikki flew to Marinette’s bag and rested herself inside, the opening of it faced the wall for an easy exit.

Adrien poked his head up from the floor of Marinette’s room and waved with a smile. “Hey, Marinette! How’s it going?” he sad as he stepped up to the floor and set his bag on her lounge. 

Marinette gave a pathetic wave back and stood to get her school bag. “Ready to start?” she opened her bag and pulled out her English supplies.

“Ready to have this finished already,” he laughed and took out his notes. “I wrote some things down last night about the book. Hopefully it’ll help understand what some things mean.” Mari nodded and took out her own notes.

“I already started on the basic format for all the answers,” she started and flipped through some of her pages. “So all we need to do is fill in what it’s asking from the book.”

“Awesome! Maybe we’ll finish it today?” he suggested and looked at her notes compared to his own. “We’ll definitely finish today. I’ve got most of the answers written here,” he looked up and smiled at her. “When we’re done, want to go out for lunch then?”

Marinette stumbled over her words. “S-sure!” she stuttered. “We better fast this finish- I mean finish better fast, no wait-” 

Adrien chuckled. “Finish this fast, you mean?” he stood and sat in the second computer chair by her sewing machine and rolled towards her desk with her PC on it. He let all his papers fall loose on the desk and patted the empty desk chair and Marinette complied. To say she was nervous was an understatement. She took slow steps on legs she couldn’t trust and released a large sigh when she finally sat down. 

“Where should we start?”

“Question one I guess,” Adrien flipped through his notes and lined them up with Marinette’s. “Should we type up our report or keep it all written? Typing could be faster,” he noted. Marinette agreed and clicked on her document program and began the top of the page with both of their names, the date, and name of project.

“Question one…” she typed out, speaking aloud.

 

* * *

 

Both teens simultaneously released a groan of satisfaction, finally finished with their assignment with an hour to spare before Adrien had to return home. 

“Well that about does it,” Marinette said as she tapped all the pages together on her desk and stapled them. “I think we did pretty well, Adrien.”

“Me too,” the blonde smiled at her. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and fiddled with it for a moment before setting it beside him. “Cool if I grab something to eat? I’m starving,” he admitted. Marinette waved towards the stairs.

“Help yourself. Anything with a note on it should be alright,” she said as she swiveled around in her seat. As soon as Adrien was gone, she quickly checked her messages from Chat.

 

**Black Cat:** Sorry gonna be busy for a bit. Ho-meow-rk to do and all :( Don’t miss me too much!

**Black Cat:** This is such a pain. Some English project. Learning new languages is cool, but a bunch of little essay questions on it? Not so cool.

**Black Cat:** Just finished it woohoo. If you need help with yours (if you’ve got the same assignment) hit me up

**Spots On** **:** Nope, finished mine a second ago. Thanks for the offer though. 

 

She sat for a moment and when she didn’t get a response back, she clicked off of it and scrolled aimlessly through the LadyBlog. As much as she loves her friend and her passion for superheroes, if there was something that came close to revealing who Ladybug is, Marinette would try to deter her away from any conclusions. The only time she couldn’t get out of what Alya discovered was the history textbook from their school. 

Adrien stepped back up into Marinette’s room, holding a few pastries. “Your parents are the best bakers in Paris,” he mumbled through the mouthful of food. “You’re so lucky.” 

“I guess so,” she started. “Sometimes not so much when they try experimenting and it’s questionable,” she laughed. Adrien chuckled quietly and sat back on the lounge and ate quietly. Mari spun in her chair slowly.

“Anything you want to do?” she asked. Adrien shrugged.

“Anything sounds fine. Could go out for a walk?” he offered. Marinette smiled and agreed before she grabbed her bag, carefully closing it with Tikki inside and pocketed her phone. Before she made way to open her hatch, she held out the second copy of the printed homework to Adrien.

“Here, take this copy in case I forget my own,” she laughed nervously. Adrien took the papers and carefully placed them inside his bag.

“Good idea.” He closed his bag. “Ready when you are.” Marinette opened the hatch door and gestured for Adrien to go first. After he was down, she followed and closed the door before catching up to him outside of the bakery.

“Anything you want to talk about while we’re out?” Adrien asked. Marinette glanced over and shrugged.

“Not anything in particular. Why, you?” Adrien nodded slowly.

“Yeah.I uh… heard you knew Ladybug personally,” he started. “And I was wondering if I could talk to her some day?” His voice quieted down near the end of his question. “If she’s cool or has time or anything at all, I mean.” He held his hands up in defence. “Trust me, I know how tight schedules are.” Marinette’s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting something like that for a starter of a conversation. However, she wasn’t sure where he might have heard that she knew Ladybug like that. Maybe Alya, but even she hasn’t said anything to Mari. Her next guess was that Chat may have told him. And if Chat said that, he could have possibly said some other things too. 

She quickly pulled her phone out to open the chat and kept it close to her chest so Adrien couldn’t see. “Who told you I was friends with Ladybug?” she inquired. A brief glance at Adrien told her that her guess was correct. She began to type out a question to Chat before stopping herself. If she suddenly asked Chat anything about the ordeal when Adrien hadn’t yet talked to Ladybug, Chat would get suspicious on how Ladybug found out in the first place, which could lead to Adrien telling Chat that he had a conversation with Marinette, thus, revealing herself.

She erased her message and tucked her phone back into her pocket. 

“Chat did… actually,” Adrien said nervously. “He uh… stops by every once in awhile to say hi.” At this, Marinette had to raise a brow. It was like Chat to say hello to people he knew when on patrol, so it made sense as to how Chat had told Adrien.

“Really? And how did Chat find out?” She already knew the answer, but there wasn’t any harm in asking anyways.

“Ladybug told him you and her hang out sometimes,” he shrugged. “The way Chat said it though sounded like you know her identity.” Adrien slowed down to a stop, Marinette stayed beside him. “So uh.. Do you?”

‘Either lie and say you don’t or tell the truth but don’t say anything. Besides, it’s not like there’s no issue with  _ me _ knowing, right?’ Marinette simply shrugged. “I saw her transform and I’ve promised with my life to keep it a secret.” Adrien nodded but the slight pout was evident on his face. Marinette suddenly felt that what she just said would come back to bite her.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any potential OOC-ness in either of the two. When writing their chats together, I visualize them to seem more casual because they're not in suit. Less of their 'heroic' side is shown and more of who they are I guess. I'm not sure where I was going with this to be honest, haha. Hope y'all enjoyed :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for season 2 episodes 1-8 throughout the rest of this fic.

The two teens sat on a bench and carried on their discussion about Marinette and Ladybug’s time together. Adrien was careful with his questions just as Marinette was cautious with her answers. One slip-up from either of them could mean things neither were ready for, whether they knew it or not.

“What is she like?”

“A little different than she is when suited up, I guess,” Marinette shrugged. “We don’t talk as much as you might think.”

“Really?” Adrien asked and looked at the bluenette. “Why’s that?” Marinette shrugged again.

“Not sure. She’s busy saving Paris and I’m busy with projects and the bakery. She stops by every once in awhile, though. Her kwami loves my dad’s cookies,” she smiled. “Cute little thing, she is.” She giggled to herself when she felt a little bump against her come from her purse.

“What’s a kwami?” Mari watched a man pull a cart of balloons near the fountain and presented them to children and their parents.

“I don’t think I can tell you details,” she mumbled. “I trust you, but sometimes I don’t trust myself with information like that… so not talking about it would help.” She gave a half-hearted smile towards Adrien and he nodded with the soft evidence of a frown.

“No, I understand. I would say the same about Chat if I knew who he was,” he trailed off. Marinette simply nodded in agreement before tilting her head at the balloon man,

“Do you ever wonder what will happen to them when Hawkmoth is defeated? Like would another set of villains show up or would they just be on civic duty with cats on trees or helping an elderly person cross the street?” She looked at Adrien, curious as to what his response would be.

“I’m not sure, really,” he laughed. “Never really thought about it… Maybe they’ll just go back to their normal lives,” he said quietly. “Pretty boring, huh?” Mari watched balloon man again and nodded slowly.

“Now that being a superhero is a big part of their lives, reverting back to normal doesn’t sound so great…” That was something both teens avoided thinking about, but voicing it out loud indirectly felt much better.

Marinette watched as balloon-man offered a child a balloon before said child kicked down the stand, releasing all of the balloons into the sky. The man looked devistated and the mother took the kid away, seeming to give him a scolding.

Both Marinette and Adrien had similar thoughts of an akuma showing up.

“I’m sorry Adrien, but I need to head to the little girl’s room,” Marinette admitted and stood before she ran towards the bathrooms. Inside, she locked herself in a stall and opened her purse.

“I think an Akuma will show up. We need to capture it before it consumes the host,” she said quickly to her kwami. “Tikki, spots on!”

A flash of pink and red consumed the small building before Ladybug jumped out and headed towards the opposite direction away from Adrien’s line of sight. If he saw her pop out of where Marinette just was, it would look suspicious. So she ran around behind trees and bushes before appearing on the opposite end of the park. There, she watched balloon-man closely and just as she predicted, a black and purple butterfly emerged from some foliage. She threw her yo-yo at it immediately and to her surprise, it dodged it and continued its merry way towards it’s awaiting victim. Ladybug wasn’t having any of it so she called her lucky charm and just in time, was given a glass dome. She ran towards the fast akuma and tumbled to the ground just before it hit it’s host and captured it inside the glass container.

“Gotcha,” she grinned. She carefully stood up with the trapped akuma on the ground and threw her yo-yo at it once before before she completed the purifying process. Right after she waved it off, she reassured the man that she could help build his stand back up. With the little time she had left, she blew up some balloons and tied them down tight to the cart. The man thanked her and rolled his cart towards the majority of kids with their parents and continued to hand them out.

“Hey, Ladybug!” Adrien waved towards her and she swung over towards him.

“Hey, Adrien,” she said nervously. “What brings you here?”

“Was hanging out with a friend,” he explained. “Got a minute?” Ladybug looked over at the cluster of trees and bushes next to the restrooms where she wanted to transform back. She heard the first beep on her earrings warning her it might be a bad idea.

“Not really, but I can talk later? Sorry, five minutes goes by fast after an attack,” she said hurriedly as she backed up. She tossed her yo-yo, saluted at Adrien and swung off towards her desired location. She jumped back into the restroom stall through the window and released her transformation. Tikki popped out and hovered in front of her.

“Marinette, that was really close! Good catch on the akuma though,” her kwami smiled at her. Marinette giggled and held her pouch open. “Thanks, Tikki, but we’ve got to hurry. I don’t want to make Adrien suspicious.” Tikki understood and quickly dove into the small bag, eating the cookies left in there to recharge her energy.

As soon as Marinette left the restroom, she made her way towards the bench slowly and sat beside Adrien again. “Did I miss anything?” Adrien snorted.

“Ladybug was here. She caught an akuma before it even hit the target,” he said as he put his phone away. “Did you tell her it was here?” Marinette could only nod as her answer, not trusting herself to say the right words. “Nice call then,” he patted Mari’s shoulder. She hummed in acknowledgement.

“What time did you say you had to go?” Adrien checked his phone and frowned.

“Guess I should go now, huh?” he sighed and stood to stretch. “It was great finishing that project today and hanging out.” Marinette nodded with a smile.

“I’ll see you around?” she said as she stood as well.

“Yeah, of course. See ya!” he called out before he made his way back home. Marinette watched him go before she headed the opposite way towards her home. When inside, she opened her purse so Tikki could escape and tossed it on her desk before she flopped onto her bed.

 

* * *

 

“Tikki, that boy knows something,” she mumbled out. Tikki flew to sit in front of Marinette and smiled.

“I don’t think so, Marinette. But be careful with what you say. Talking to Chat and Adrien like this could get you into big trouble.”

“I know, Tikki, and that’s what I’m afraid of… It would be so much easier if I hadn’t said anything.”

“Or if they were the same person,” Tikki mildly suggested. Marinette could only roll over to laugh.

“Ha, in your dreams! No way is Adrien Chat Noir. The red creature merely shrugged and flew over to her desktop and hit a key, the chat with Chat opening up. Mari took a brief glance at it before she sat up to sit at her computer chair.

 

**Black Cat:** Looks like you don’t need my help in fighting, do ya?

**Spots On** **:** What do you mean?

**Black Cat:** I’m just messin with you! :D I heard about the park earlier. Nice job on that.

**Spots On** **:** Lady’s intuition ;o

**Black Cat:** Were you just going on patrol or were you nearby?

**Spots On** **:** Little of both. Went outside for a bit, decided to a good sweep of the area. Luckily I did.

**Black Cat:** Nice You get a two paws up from me :P

**Spots On** **:** That’s exactly what I was hoping for. Thanks so much kitty -sarcasm

**Black Cat:** Any plans tonight, m’lady?

**Spots On** **:** None for now. Why?

**Black Cat:** Was just thinking we can talk somewhere? Yes, we’re talking now and have been all day, but just chilling out somewhere. Maybe dinner? ;)

**Spots On** **:** Yes for dinner, no on the date ;)

**Black Cat:** ;(

**Spots On** **:** haha poor kitty. There’s some things I want to take care of first before. Meet at the museum around… 8?

**Black Cat:** Purrfect!

 

Marinette chuckled at Chat’s excitement and left her computer to make her way down to the living room.

“Maman, I’m going to go out to eat tonight, is that alright?” she asked as soon as her mother was in view, stirring a batch of cookie dough. “Want some help?”

“Sure, Marinette, that’s fine. And if you don’t mind,” Sabine replied. “I’ve got to finish a batch of fifty before tomorrow evening. I’ve got thirty in the oven and this should make another thirty. You’re welcome to have the extras,” she explained as her daughter washed her hands. With the two of them, they managed to finish the dough and ball them up in just under half an hour. Sabine took the baked cookies out of the oven and carefully placed them in boxes, handing one to Marinette and eating one for herself. Marinette took a bite and hummed as soon as it hit her tongue.

“Maman, this is delicious,” she said as she took another bite. She would have to remember to come back down to grab two extra before leaving.

“Why thank you, Marinette. The family requested a bit of hazelnut in the recipe, so I might add that to our menu. Maybe with toffee.”

“Let me know if you do, I’d love to test them!” Mari gave her mother a kiss on the cheek before she returned to her room. There, she switched between talking to Chat and working on some designing crafts.

 

When seven o’clock rolled around, Marinette told Chat she was leaving to run some errands and her mother that she’s going out to eat and would be home late. As soon as she rounded the corner from her home, she transformed and made her way towards the Agreste estate. There, she perched herself on the roof of an adjacent building and looked into Adrien’s window. Seeing he wasn’t there, she decided to wait until he was in there alone. She didn’t have to wait for long though because just then she saw a hint of blonde peek out of the bathroom. He was in his sleepwear with a towel around his next to catch the water falling from his hair.

After she deemed enough time to pass by, Ladybug tossed her yo-yo at the window, being gentle not to crack the glass. Adrien’s head shot up from his phone and to say he was horrible at hiding his smile was an understatement. He quickly left his bed to open the window and backed up so Ladybug could have room to jump in. As soon as she was in, she took a glance around the place. It still looked exactly the same since her and Chat were fighting Adrien’s father, Gabriel Agreste as an akuma.

“H-hey, Ladybug,” Adrien said with a small wave.

“Hey, Adrien,” the super hero responded with an equal wave. “You wanted to talk?” At this, Adrien nodded quickly.

“Yes! Yes, I er… wanted to ask you something.” He glanced back over at his computer desk, unknowing to Ladybug, that was where Plagg was and gave him a bit of Chat’s confidence. “Did you… want to catch dinner or a movie or something this weekend…?” At this, Ladybug was completely stunned. No way was she expecting Adrien to ask her out, yet here they were while Adrien stood there nervously and wondered what she would say.

“I-I uh.. S-sure, Adrien!” she rushed. “W-where did this come from?” She already knew that answer, but it didn’t hurt hearing it from the guy himself.

“I’ve been uh.. Into you for a while… so… and recently something just told me to go for it, so I uh… yeah,” he said with a hand behind his head. “So.. you’re cool? That wasn’t weird, was it?” Ladybug shook her head.

“Unexpected… but we’re cool,” she smiled at him. “I um… better get going though,” she pointed towards the window. “I have other plans too. What time Saturday?”

“Six?”

“Perfect. See you then.” The super hero stumbled a bit when climbing out the window but quickly tossed her yo-yo out and swung on a street-lamp towards the museum. She was going to be early, but she didn’t care. It would give her ample time to figure out what had just happened. She was almost tempted to break her transformation to tell Tikki, but with the chance of Chat showing up within the next hour, she didn’t want to risk it.

 

During that time, she paced around the building, trying various ways to increase her speed with her swinging as well as running and jumping between pillars. She failed to notice that Chat watched her for a minute before speaking up.

“Fighting something invisible?” Ladybug’s movements immediately halted when she heard his voice and turned towards her partner.

“How long have you been there?” she hooked her yo-yo back around her waist and stretched her arms out.

“Not long,” he admitted. “Curious as to what your training regime was, is all.” He leaned against the building nonchalantly. “Curious about mine?” he winked as he flexed his muscles.

“You have me swooning,” she said with the back of her hand to her forehead. “What ever shall I do?” Chat laughed and leaned against his staff.

“Not sure, m’lady. Care to find out?” he winked at her. She simply shook her head and moved her hand up to flick his bell.

“I’d rather not. Where did you say you wanted to eat?” Chat chuckled.

“I didn’t, but I know a great little place on the outskirts of town. Think we can do it?” Ladybug nodded slowly. She had plenty of cookies for her kwami and Chat’s in case they’re out too long.

“Yeah, I have some food for backup. No curfew either,” she held out a thumbs up. Chat nodded and held his hand out. Ladybug happily took it and Chat pulled her close against him.

“Don’t start falling for me now, M’lady,” he said as he pulled out his staff and extended it, the duo soon overlooking the city of Paris. He let it fall forward and held her tighter, using the staff to vault them across rooftops. Ladybug could only laugh as the wind passed through her hair and face, enjoying this feeling too much when she wasn’t the one swinging herself around.

 

Soon enough Chat found a spot to drop them off at and placed his staff back in it’s holder. “We’re here.” Ladybug took a look around and frowned.

“Where are we?” she asked, unfamiliar with the area.

“Simply the second best cafe in town, of course,” he presented her with a cheshire grin. Ladybug arched a brow.

“Second best?”

“I only say that because the first best isn’t a cafe, it’s a bakery but they serve the same things. Except this one has things other than desserts.”

“Then where’s the best?”

“Marinette’s parents’ bakery, of course! Haven’t you had some of their food?” Ladybug nodded.

“A few times. Marinette has offered some food for my kwami too. She loves them.” It wasn’t technically a lie, it just wasn’t the whole truth either.

Chat held the door open for her and she thanked him as she entered and glanced around at the decor. It was a homey type of place. Tons of brown colors that gave it a warm feeling to it. There weren’t too many customers  and the tables were spaced far enough apart for the two to have some privacy. He lead her towards a table towards the back and pulled the chair out for her. She thanked him, sat down and Chat took the seat across.  They each unfolded their menus and skimmed through the items, neither quite sure what to order.

Ladybug was the first to break the silence. “You wanted to talk?”

Chat smiled up at her. “Yeah. So how’s that thing you’re making for me coming along?” Ladybug furrowed her brows in confusion before she understood what her friend was referencing.

“It hasn’t started. I’m working on something else for another friend of mine. Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m going to find time for your gift, whatever it’ll be, but I’m sure Marinette could think of something for you.” Ladybug closed her menu when she was sure what she wanted to order and Chat soon did the same. “She makes awesome designs for clothes or accessories. I have some of her garments, actually.”

“Really? I think I’ve only seen a few of her designs,” Chat mumbled. All he could think of was the hat she made for the contest.

“Nearly everything she wears she’s designed herself. She wants to open a shop one day, she’s told me.” Chat knew this piece of information. He overheard Marinette talking to Alya after the competition for Gabriel that she either wanted to work for him or open her own shop. She knew of course that that would require being in competition with Gabriel Agreste, but she wasn’t planning on making it such a huge business compared to his. But Adrien did know that she wanted to intern with his father’s company. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it, semi working for the man himself, but if it was something Marinette wanted to do, he would have to remember to let his dad know of her plans.

“Really? I might ask her then. Think she takes commission?” Chat wondered. He wasn’t opposed to paying her for any work no matter the cost. He’s seen some of her designs and he knew she wouldn’t make anything cheap or flimsy.

“Not sure. Since you’re a famous superhero, she might give you a discount,” Ladybug laughed. “Basically meaning free.”

“No, I couldn’t do that,” Chat started. “I can only imagine how much effort and time she puts into her work… Think she would mind me stopping by later tonight? Just to say hi and see what she says?”

“I think she’ll be alright with that. Last I heard, she was making a bag for her friend… Alya. The girl that runs the LadyBlog,” she said with a laugh. Chat shook his head.

“Small world we live in,” he mumbled.

“You have no idea,” she responded back in the same tone of voice. “But anyways, did you figure out what you wanted?” He nodded and held his hand out for her menu.

“I’ll go order for us, don’t worry.” She gave him her menu and he got up and sauntered over towards the counter and ordered their food. This gave Ladybug time to decide how she was going to word what she wanted to tell Chat. She had a date with Adrien and despite the duo knowing so much about each other yet so little, she felt awkward telling him something like that. It wasn’t his place to know yet it was something she didn’t feel like keeping away from him either. Either way, she knew Chat wouldn’t have a problem with it considering their conversation earlier, that is, until he found out who she was without the mask. That was another conversation for another day.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the lack of update yesterday. Will post the next chapter later tonight :)


	4. Chapter 4

When Chat came back with a tray of their food and drinks, he noticed the concentrated look on her face.

“Hey, LB. Is something wrong?” he questioned as he set their food down. Ladybug shook her head and looked up at him.

“Nothing is, Chat. A lot has been happening lately and I’m just trying to piece it all together.” Chat had a brief look of panic but Ladybug didn’t notice. She began to eat her soup and hummed in delight. “This is delicious! How did you find this place?”

“Was out on patrol and went a little too far. Came here for directions back and they offered some food. Of course this stray couldn’t deny,” he laughed. “If you think this is good, wait until dessert. Now, I feel a little bad-” he leaned in close, “but I brought some from Marinette’s bakery ‘cause there's is so much better. But don’t tell these guys I said that.” He leaned back from over the table and began to dine on his own supper.

“I eat there plenty enough, Chat. I’m sure whatever you’ve got I’ve had before.” The girl couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Sure, she didn’t see Chat in the bakery all day, but she was also out and during that time was when he could have showed up.

“I doubt it m’lady. Chef’s wife told me herself the new pastry was first created this morning,” he said with a wide grin. Ladybug found it adorable that Chat took pride in their bakery. She made a mental note to include some items with whatever it is she was going to make him.

“Well then I’ll take your word for it,” she mumbled through her coffee up and took a sip.

 

Throughout the night, the superhero duo chatted about various things consisting from their friends to Hawkmoth. The conversation Marinette had with Adrien earlier that day plagued both of their minds but neither was brave enough to bring it up. Ladybug did think that talking about it via chat online would be much easier to deal with. It would take away the expressions of sadness they know they would both have. They both thanked the other mentally for not bringing it up. Instead, they kept the light banter going for a little over an hour and soon enough it was time to part ways. After Ladybug was actually surprised that Chat did in fact bring a new recipe her parents had baked, he bid her a good night and vaulted off in the general direction what she assumed would be home. Since they were so far from the city, she wouldn’t have a clue where he lived and was grateful the cafe was where it was for that reason.

Before they parted, Chat gave her specific directions to the Louvre so she wouldn’t get lost. She followed them to a T and from there was able to make her way safely back home. There, she detransformed and got herself ready for bed and the weekend following after.

 

* * *

 

The following morning, Marinette woke to the sound of her mother calling her down for breakfast. She grudgingly got out of bed and carefully made her way down the stairs to the kitchen table. There were pancakes with sliced fruits decorating the plate and a small bowl of whipped cream to the side. The tired teen rubbed her eyes and looked at both of her parents, confused.

“Maman, what’s this for?” she mumbled, her throat feeling too dry to talk. Her mother sat down beside her and her father on her other side.

“I just felt like making something special, my dear,” she replied with a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. Marinette smiled weakly and carefully sipped her juice.

“Thanks,” she said just before digging into her plate. Her mother finished up the dishes, already have eaten her meal.

“There’s some chores I’d like you to do before you go out today.” Marinette hummed between mouthfuls and Sabine understood. After the dishes were finished, she grabbed her keys and the boxes of cookies. “I’m going to go get these delivered. Mind holding the fort until I get back? Your father is out on a business trip promoting the business.” Marinette completely forgot about her father being gone for a week.  

“Sorry I couldn’t say bye,” she frowned. Her mother tapped her cheek gently.

“It’s alright, dear, he knows you’ll miss him. Anyways, I shouldn’t be more than a couple hours. Feel free to have friends over!” Sabine waved her daughter off before leaving to deliver the orders. Marinette took a look around the empty kitchen before she finished her meal and cleaned up her dishes. Afterwards, she got dressed and began to work on Alya’s bag. Tikki watched, helping Marinette however she could. Once in awhile, the red kwami flew outside on Marinette’s balcony and basked in the fresh air.

 

Not too long later, the bag was finally finished and Marinette carefully placed it inside a box. The goal was to have it done for Christmas, but her birthday was just around the corner, so that would be a perfect time to do so.

Tikki flew back inside to find Marinette scrounging around. “What are you looking for, Marinette?”

“Wrapping paper that’s not for Christmas,” she said just as she found a box full of rolls, only to find they all had Santa and reindeer plastered on them. She groaned and placed it back in her closet. “I’m going to look in my mom’s room.” Tikki stayed in her room when Marinette left and took a peek inside the box for Alya. She loved Marinette’s designs and styles and was proud to encourage her to work on them whenever she lacked the creative spark.

Not too long after she left, Mari came back up with two rolls of wrapping paper; one with a star design and another with birthday cakes across. “Which one do you like best?” she asked her kwami. Tikki pointed towards the birthday cake roll and Mari smiled. “Me too.” She put down the other roll and wrapped up Alya’s gift as best as she could. It took her a few tries, but eventually she had the paper as neat as possible. She dug through her drawer to put a blue bow on top and signed the package. Funny how she could remember to sign this gift but not Adrien’s. The thought made her feel dumb but she set those thoughts aside and hid the gift inside her closet. Rarely did Alya ever go through there for something, so she knew her friend wouldn’t see it.

Tikki congratulated her on finishing the project with a high five on Marinette’s finger. “Do you know what to work on next?” Marinette shook her head and glanced over at her computer.

“Chat hasn’t said what he wanted,” she said before she rolled her chair over and opened the chat room.

 

**Spots On** **:** Hey, what did you want made from Marinette? Her and I are talking now and she wanted to get started on it now.

 

There wasn’t a response for a few moments so she left the chat open while cleaning up her supplies from the previous project. Just then, a ring was heard throughout the house, indicating a customer just walked in. She quickly dashed downstairs and greeted the woman and child. They ordered what was pre-made on the shelf and Marinette heated up their items for them when requested. She placed them inside their individual bags and took their payment, setting the extra cash given into the donate jar. It wasn’t very full, but it did give them good credibility to their business.

She was sorting out the cash in the drawer when she heard a thump from upstairs. She quickly finished sorting and locked the register before she ran upstairs to her room. She didn’t see anything out of place or broken, so that was good. But she did hear some movement from outside. She peeked out and saw Chat dusting himself off. Immediately she panicked and jumped down to click off of the chat. She glanced back up and saw him looking through the window. She opened the hatch and waved slightly.

“Hey, Chat, what brings you here?” she asked as he descended into her room. She felt weird with him being here in her personal space, but didn’t let it bother her.

“I was talking with Ladybug and she mentioned you were looking for a project. I’ve got a request I can pay you for if you’re interested, princess,” he said. Marinette sat back in her chair and in the corner of her eye, saw Tikki hide under her pillow. Chat sat on her lounge and twirled with his baton.

“Go on,” she urged. For some reason, there was a stupidly large grin on Chat’s face and he kept bouncing his leg restlessly.

“I uh.. How about a hat? This suit is warm for the winter but the rest of this kitty’s fur freezes,” he said as he ran a clawed hand through his hair. “I’ll pay you.” Marinette shook her head.

“No, I don’t want payment. I might just put my signature and get reveneau off of it,” she laughed. It sounded like a joke, but it wasn’t. If someone was curious about anything Chat wears, she could use this to start small jobs. “I’ll figure something out. I’ll let you know when it’s finished.” She spun around in her chair and wrote down on her notepad what materials she will need for the project. She didn’t have any ideas how it would be designed, but she would figure it out eventually.

“Was that all you came for, Chat?” She turned back towards him. “An awesome superhero like you must be busy and all…” Chat waved his hand and shook his head.

“Paris is safe for now, purrincess,” he flashed a wide smile. “But I guess I should go back home, huh? Sorry to drop in like this, I was just around the area and remembered what Ladybug said.” He stood and made his way up the ladder and to the hatch on her ceiling. “Hey, thanks a bunch for this, princess,” he smiled at her. She waved him goodbye and he vaulted off and into the sunny day of Paris.

Tikki emerged from her hiding spot and sat next to her owner’s notes. “That was a close one,” she said. Marinette nodded in agreement and grabbed her sketchbook and some pencils before she walked back down to the bakery.

“Hopefully next time he’ll give us a warning before he shows up like that,” she sighed. Tikki hummed in agreement and sat beside where Marinette began to sketch ideas for her next project.

 

Over the next couple hours, Marinette only had time to form a few ideas. There were plenty of customers calling in orders as well as some walk-ins purchasing pre-made pastries. Marinette was happy to make some of the simpler orders. A vanilla cake here and another batch of sugar cookies there. She wasn’t familiar enough with the harder requests, one of them being a cake in the shape of the customer’s dog. She worked on the base for the cake, leaving the sculpting and shaping to her parents. She wasn’t very good at shaping cakes, but with some more practice she knew she would get better. The thought of a clothing store mixed with a bakery seemed silly to her but perfect to her idea of a business. Maybe her room could be for clothes and she could find an apartment to live in close by. The idea certainly wouldn’t come to life for a long time; well after she would hope to have a boutique elsewhere. She hasn’t worked much on her brand or extra items of clothing or accessories lately, but after this project for Chat Noir, she hoped she could start a commission setup. It would involve building a website that Alya could certainly help her with and maybe be the model for most of her items. Or Adrien if she had the guts to ask.

After her creative side was overworked in sketching the perfect design for Chat’s hat, Marinette began working on her chores just before her mother returned home.

She greeted her and listed out the tasks she finished that day for their business. The last layer of cake was done cooling, all it needed was to be sculpted into what the customer ordered. Sabine thanked her daughter and let her know she’s free to do whatever. Marinette thanked her with a kiss on the cheek and ran back up to her room to back her sketchbook and pencils. Even though she would be Ladybug the rest of the night, that didn’t mean she couldn’t find inspiration out there when with Adrien. Then it dawned on her once again. She had a date with Adrien! Not as herself, which made her feel a little weird but she passed it off as just her nerves. But she knew with Tikki’s help, she wouldn’t feel as nervous with her mask on. She debated whether or not she wanted to wear any makeup, but decided against it. It wasn’t as if Adrien would see it clearly anyways. She checked the time and took a final deep breath.

“Wish me luck, Tikki,” she mumbled. Tikki patted her shoulder.

“I know you’ll have a great time, Marinette,” she grinned. “Good luck!”

“Tikki, Spots on!”

Ladybug jumped out of the hatch on her bedroom ceiling and swung from building to building, enjoying the brisk cold air against her face. Adrien’s house wasn’t too far so by the time she reached the window,the first thought of doubt creeped in. It didn’t have enough time to linger though as Adrien saw the flash of red out of the corner of his eye and opened the window to greet her.

“Hey, Ladybug,” he said with a smile. “I just need to tell Nathalie I’m going out. I’ll meet you on the ground?” Ladybug looked down with a nod and immediately dropped down, landing smoothly. Adrien closed the window and left his room to bid Nathalie goodbye and notified her when he should be home. Ladybug patiently waited by tapping her fingers together. It still hasn’t hit her that her and Adrien were going out as a date and probably won’t until they get to their destination.

Adrien appeared around the corner and waved towards the superhero. “Ready to go?” he asked.

“Sure. Er.. where exactly are we going?”

“I was thinking a movie, if that’s okay with you? Dinner afterwards? Or something,” he said with his eyes looking everywhere but her. Ladybug smiled.

“Sounds perfect.” She pulled her yo-yo out and tossed it up at a building and held her arm out for her crush. “Guess we should go now, huh?” Adrien took a tentative step forward to wrap his arms around Ladybug’s shoulders. Her arm held his waist with a hard grip but not enough to hurt him in the process and tugged on the string, causing them to fling up into the air. Adrien gasped and let out a laugh. He was used to this feeling as Chat Noir, but hanging in for the ride while Ladybug pulled them forward felt just as amazing.

Ladybug slowed her swings down and carefully landed on the sidewalk not too far from the cinema. “We’re here,” she said as she put her yo-yo away. Adrien brushed himself off and approached the entrance to the large building and held the door open for her.

This felt familiar.

She stepped inside with a quiet ‘thank you’ and stood in line to buy a ticket. “Decide what to watch yet?” Adrien shook his head and pondered his options. He listed two options he was interested in and luckily enough, Ladybug liked one of them as well. They purchased their tickets (all the while Ladybug receiving some strange looks from the staff and customers) and ventured forward through the theatre.

“I can go get us something to drink and you can find a good seat?” Adrien suggested.

“Sure,” Ladybug replied. She told him what drink she would like before they parted ways. When she entered the theater, all eyes inside veered towards her and didn’t stray away. She felt like she stood out too much and wondered why she didn’t wear something over her suit. She sucked it up and dealt with the wandering eyes as she picked a seat near the middle. The child sitting in front of her turned around and beamed.

“You’re Ladybug!” she exclaimed. The mother hurriedly hushed her child and apologized for the loud behavior. Ladybug assured it was alright and had a small chat with the child about fighting crime when Adrien appeared at the base of the steps with two cups in his hands. It didn’t take long for him to spot Ladybug and was quick to seat himself beside her.

“Here you go, Ladybug,” he piped. The bluenette happily took the drink, sipped it and hummed happily.

“Thank you, Adrien,” she replied. “Movie is going to start any minute.” Adrien settled himself down next to her and both teens stared straight at the screen. Both felt tense, unsure if they should do anything regular teens would do on a date like this, or enjoy the movie in silence. Maybe a movie wasn’t the best option, but at least they would have interesting conversations over dinner about the movie.

 

Over the course of the film, either one would lean towards the other and make a note of something out of place or obvious about the dialogue or screenplay. They each kept their laughter to themselves and soon by the middle of the movie, they began to feel less awkward and more comfortable. It wasn’t every day these two in these identities talked much anyways. The only they were aware they had in common was their hard crush on each other because of Chat. if Chat hadn’t said anything to Ladybug about Adrien the other day, she didn’t think any of this would be happening. But she also had to thank him at some point since he might have told Adrien after all.

Adrien glanced over at Ladybug and saw how enamoured she was by the movie, he didn’t want to disturb her. The want to put his arm around her was getting stronger by the minute and the last thing he wanted to do was make anything awkward for them. He decided on an ‘accidental’ readjustment of his arms and would up with his hand just barely touching hers. Ladybug noticed immediately and froze, unsure whether or not it was okay to hold his hand or not. The final words of Tikki echoed in her mind and she had nothing left to lose. So she adjusted herself and placed her hand directly on top of his and threaded their fingers together. The breath she didn’t realize she was holding released when Adrien held back. Even the smallest action like that nearly had her heart soaring.

 

For the rest of the movie, they sat like that and still whispered their occasional side comments. It only made the film that much more enjoyable for Ladybug and when it was over, Adrien stood and took his hand away to stretch.

“I wasn’t expecting that ending,” he admitted. “I honestly thought it would go a whole different way.” Ladybug stood and carefully held her drink before she followed Adrien down the aisle and stairs.

“I thought it was being hinted at, but it threw me for a loop too. It was still fantastic,” she pointed out. Both teens collectively took a last sip out of their cups and tossed them in the trash on the way out.

Adrien turned towards Ladybug. “So, dinner?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This dinner date with LB and Adrien is just me horribly forcing each one of the love-square ships into this fic.


	5. Chapter 5

Ladybug knew of a restaurant not too far from the cinema and wasn’t too expensive either. Adrien wondered if they would have to swing again and the bluenette hastily replied it was just a short walk around the block. Her first thought was he was afraid of heights and didn’t want to admit it. She suddenly felt bad, but she didn’t understand why it seemed like he enjoyed the ride to the movies in the first place. Maybe it could be something they discuss over dinner.

Now that the first half of their date was over, Ladybug’s nerves had calmed down quite a bit. Sure, the movie didn’t allow them to chat about anything properly, but it was a way to get used to the other’s presence. She felt silly thinking about it thought. Those were thoughts Marinette would certainly have, not Ladybug. But she was still herself whether or not she was wearing the mask which had her feel a bit off about the whole ordeal.

Finding out Adrien had a thing for Ladybug felt great because _she_ was Ladybug. But also knowing that Marinette is in Adrien’s life more than Ladybug and he isn’t interested in her romantically made her feel like this date was a mistake. If Adrien were to ever find out, she had a gut feeling that he would be disappointed it’s Marinette and not someone else. Adrien knows just as much information as Alya does (to Ladybug’s knowledge) so if he knew something else, she felt like she would know based on his demeanor. But it didn’t seem like he knew any new information, so that also made her feel a bit down. Her next thought was of Chat and what he said during their conversation not too long ago.

When she questioned him like he did her for who she was interested in, she was wholeheartedly surprised when she found out Chat was into Marinette. Sure, she had never viewed Chat as any romantic interested, but she knew she would have if Adrien wasn’t in the picture. But she didn’t think it was fair to compare Chat, who likes Marinette for herself, to Adrien, who likes Ladybug for unknown reasons. Chat of course didn’t know he’s been talking to Marinette this entire time, so she would be lying if at that moment in that conversation that she didn’t feel even the smallest thing for Chat.

 

So when they finally arrived to the restaurant, Ladybug was at a loss for words on what to say to Adrien without letting him down or sounding harsh. Maybe more to take in consideration her own feelings. Not once did she ever think she would turn down Adrien and she was still unsure, but that didn’t stop her from feeling horrible about the situation.

If Adrien only loved her as Ladybug, deep down inside she knew it wouldn’t work out. As much as it upset her, it would be best to break the potential relationship off before it even started.

The duo were seated not long after checking in and due to both of their requests, asked to be secluded. Again, flashbacks from the day before irritated Ladybug just to the point of a miniscule headache. They were given menus and ordered drinks before they were finally alone the first time over the date.

“Ladybug-”

“Adrien-”

They both fumbled with their words.

“You go first,” Adrien insisted. Ladybug swallowed and picked at the corner of her menu.

“I… Adrien… I’m not sure this will work out…” she mumbled quietly. The urge to hide her face was growing but she faced the man of her dreams head on. She didn’t want to feel like a coward and make Adrien feel insecure at the same time. Adrien’s mouth froze open, unsure what to say after that. Ladybug let her sentence float in silence long enough for Adrien to comprehend where this was going.

“Wait, Ladybug, I-”

“I know it seemed fine earlier, but I was thinking,” she interrupted him, “that if… if we’re together, you don’t know who I am under this mask. And I.. I can’t stand knowing you only like the mask and not the girl underneath.” She knew if she didn’t go straight to the point now, she never would in the first place. If only Tikki were here.

Adrien still couldn’t believe what Ladybug was saying and kept his mouth shut despite once sentence on the tip of his tongue that could change their night. For better or worse, he didn’t know and was afraid to find out just yet.

“I like you, a lot. And… I know you feel the same way, but with us being in the public eye twenty-four seven and you don’t even know my real name, it just… I feel like it’ll soon become too much to bear and neither of us will be happy.” She took a deep breath and finally stared into Adrien’s eyes, seeing nothing but disappointment. A small frown etched over his features and he shook his head.

“Ladybug,” he started but was unsure how to get his words out. _Just say it_ he thought. _Say it and it’ll be fine._ But he couldn’t. He saw the guilty look on Ladybug’s face and only revealing who he was and what he knows would only make their problems worse. He sighed dejectedly.

“I get it,” he murmured. “I understand where you’re coming from…But if you ever need anything.. A friend.. I’ll still be here, alright?” It was a poor attempt to reach for friendship between them, but even that seemed scarce. Ladybug simply reached out and held Adrien’s hand as her way of saying thank you for understanding before she let go.

“I’m sorry I said that as soon as we got here,” she apologized. “I didn’t want this to be awkward, but I still want to be your friend.” At this, Adrien’s spirits lifted a little and he nodded in understanding.

“Then that’s cool with me. Besides, you’re right. The press would be way too pushy and eventually my father would have a huge issue about it,” he trailed off. Anything to make himself feel better in all honesty. “So… can I ask you a weird question?”

“Sure, of course,” Ladybug insisted. “Anything at all.”

“Does Chat know?” He already knew the answer, but if there was any way he could bring his alter ego into the conversation, he would. Him and Ladybug were friends and if she knew who he was, there was a chance that she would reconsider her statement. But in a sense she was right. ‘Adrien’ only knew Ladybug by what he’s seen on screen and the few times they’ve interacted. But Chat knew the real Ladybug. He knew what an amazing person she was and he knew he fell for the girl under the mask because no matter what, it’s still the same brave selfless girl he’s known all along. She just didn’t know it.

Ladybug shook her head. “I haven’t said much to him lately,” she responded honestly. “I don’t think he’d like to hear this either… he was our wingman afterall,” she laughed cautiously, trying to make light of the conversation. _If only you knew_ Adrien thought.

 

Over the course of their meal together, they were able to keep up enough small talk to make the time pass by. When it came time to leave, Adrien insisted on calling his chauffeur and let Ladybug have time alone. She only left when the Gorilla arrived only to watch for his safety and they waved goodbye. As soon as he sat in the car, the next thing he wasn’t looking forward to was the speech from Plagg about how dumb he was. And did that speech come with a bang. One could almost say Plagg was scolding him for every little thing he did wrong that night.

“I know, Plagg, haven’t you figured it out already? If I said something, it would only make the problem worse,” Adrien spouted and sat on his bed. Plagg flew to his side and laid a hand on the teen’s shoulder.

“The only problem that would be worse is your ability to function. I mean come on Adrien, what could really happen? You tell Ladybug you’re Chat Noir, she freaks out, maybe she says her lame excuse again but then you drop the bomb!” he exclaimed. “That plan is foolproof and you know it. You only have yourself to blame for this one.” Adrien narrowed his eyes at the kwami.

“Right, and me telling Ladybug that will solve the issue how? Do you know how pissed she’ll be?”

“Pissed because you’ll tell her your Chat?”

“Pissed because I know who she is, Plagg,” he groaned and fell back onto his bed. “I know who she is and I can’t say anything… I was going to, but after she said that, there was no way I could. She’d be so disappointed. She even said it herself. I was our wingman. Do you know how pathetic that is?” Plagg could only stare at Adrien in mild surprise.

“So you finally figured it out. Whew, for a second I thought I had to tell you myself! When’d you find out?” Adrien closed his eyes, recalling the memory vividly.

 

_Chat bounded between buildings, his target in view. The Dupain-Cheng bakery slash household. He was there to tell Marinette about making something for him. He wasn’t sure what he wanted from her yet, but since his dad never allowed him to wear anything other than his own brand, he knew it wouldn’t hurt to be a walking advertisement for Marinette’s soon-to-be business in fashion design._

_He landed smoothly on the balcony and looked down into the window to find Marinette. She wasn’t in her room, so his next guess was she was elsewhere. A brief thought of her finding him on her bed in some silly pose made him laugh so he took it upon himself to let himself in. As soon as his feet landed on the ground, he heard the quiet murmur of customers below and could only assume that’s where she was. He took a look around the room. It was exactly the same since he was last here gaming with her as Adrien. Except for the multitude of photos if Adrien on her walls! He covered his mouth to hide his embarrassment (despite no one seeing him) and he looked from picture to picture. They started by her sewing machine and trailed all across the wall where her PC was. A brief glance at her computer showed the same images all photoshopped together, but that wasn’t what caught his eye first. The familiar black and red text on a website he recognized. “Black Cat” and “Spots On,” the two users who chatted back and forth._

_A wave of emotion flooded his mind and he stumbled slightly, unable to comprehend the situation. Marinette really was Ladybug. There was no other explanation. No way would Ladybug be in Marinette’s room with this chat open and even if she was, it wasn’t like Ladybug to open a private chat on someone else’s computer. To reassure himself, he skimmed through the messages, all too familiar. No way was his lady his best friend! No way his lady was right behind him this entire time! He was just seconds away from yelling in delight before reality caught back up with him and told him to get out of her room as soon as possible. So he did so and during his scamper out of her room, the hatch closed too hard and he fumbled back and fell on the pavement. He carefully stood and brushed himself off when he heard the fumbling below him. A brief flash of pink and black ran from the computer towards the hatch and he waved at Marinette below._

 

“And you didn’t tell her?!” Plagg nearly screeched. Adrien groaned in response.

“If I did, don’t you think she would still be as upset if I told her tonight? I was in her room without permission. The chat was there, I saw it. Not only that, but Ladybug strictly asks me to not tell her who I am and now I’m just stuck between a rock and a hard place.” He rolled over to face the black creature. “What should I do?”

“Not be such a baby about it. This is why cheese is so much better than girls,” Plagg retorted. “So if you’re not going to tell her your Chat Noir and you’re not going to tell her you know she’s Marinette, what are you going to do? Try to get her to fall for Chat Noir as Marinette so then she’s finally understood both sides of you and you can prove you love both sides of her?” The look on Adrien’s face spoke a thousand words to Plagg and the kwami groaned. “I didn’t mean for that to be an actual plan.”

“Well it’s happening,” Adrien grinned happily. “And because that’s a great idea, I’ll feed you double from now on, deal?” Plagg nodded.

“Deal."

* * *

 

Over the next two weeks, Marinette hasn’t said a word to Adrien in or out of school. After their project was turned in, she was persistent on Alya being her partner and when Alya refused, she partnered with Alex or Nathaniel which left Adrien to find someone else to partner with. Had he not known she was Ladybug, he would be devastated, wondering what it was he did wrong. But he knew that he had to be patient with his plan. If he visited Marinette as Chat just after dinner or even the day after, he felt she wouldn’t be normal just yet. He could imagine their roles reversed and completely understood where Ladybug was coming from. He felt the same thing at first when she admitted to Chat that she had a crush on Adrien. It was why he persisted she explain what was so good about him. Even then, he was the least bit upset she didn’t seem to harbor any feelings for Chat. But that was going to change.

Their little chat room was still lively after school and over the weekends. They usually stayed away from people they know (especially avoiding talking about Adrien or Marinette) and focused more on homework, movies, music, or tv shows. Small things they could carry long conversations on about. Neither complained (not that they would in the first place) and felt content with their minor bickering when it came to such topics. Adrien could only imagine doing this in real life with the truth out.

The only thing he really hated about his plan was how manipulative it was. He didn’t mean for it to be that way, but it was and he was one hundred percent sure going to change it. If Marinette refused to do anything with Chat, he would back off and just stay as a friend. He could only hope his plan would work.

 

That evening, Adrien held up his promise to Plagg and gave him double the amount of camembert. The small creature quit his complaining ever since and went along with Adrien’s silly idea. Of course Plagg was so easily tempted to just ‘accidently’ find himself in Marinette’s bag, but Tikki wasn’t going to have any of it and neither would Adrien if he ever found out. But after he found out who Ladybug is, he’s teased Adrien over it to the point where Adrien couldn’t stand to be in the same room sometimes. He was finally relieved the blond kid figured it out, but boy did it take a long time.

After Plagg was happily fed, Adrien called for his claws out and vaulted his way towards Marinette’s home. He was sure she was going to be there this night. He overheard her and Alya talking about Friday night plans and once Alya revealed she had a date with Nino, Marinette said she was too busy with homework and projects to go out anywhere.

Chat landed on the balcony with ease and was sure to make some noise out of it so Marinette could hear. Just as planned, she peeked through her hatch and opened it with a curious expression.

“Chat Noir? What are you doing here?” she wondered. Chat gave her his signature smile when flirting and shrugged his shoulders.

“Just visiting my favorite princess, what else?” Marinette looked at him quizzically and pushed the hatch all the way open.

“Come on in,” she said timidly and climbed down off of the ladder to return to what she was doing. Chat happily obliged and closed the door when he was inside her room. He turned and the first thing he noticed was the lack of Adrien photos.

“What happened with that Adrien kid? Lose interest?” he asked as she sat at her desk. He kept up his facade that anything involving Adrien bothered him even though it didn’t. The only reasonable explanation was she was trying to get over him because of the disaster of a date that happened weeks ago. Chat couldn’t find it in himself to be upset because it was partially his fault.

“Something like that,” Marinette murmured and looked to her blank walls.

“Does that mean I have a chance?” Chat stepped closer and winked at Marinette. Of course she didn’t know he wasn’t joking so her response was a lighthearted laugh and a flick to his bell.

“Dream on, kitty. Though, I might take you up on that offer if you can do me a huge favor.” At this, Chat’s ears perked up. He would do almost anything for a chance like that.

“Yes, anything,” he said quickly. “What is it?” Marinette covered her mouth and chuckled at his eagerness and gestured to her sewing machine.

“I need your measurements,” she said as she pulled out what looked to be the prototype of his hat. Chat grinned and knelt down in front of her so his head was in reach. She carefully put the hat on him, adjusted his ears through the holes and pulled it down as far as it could go.

“Adjust it so it’s comfortable,” she requested. Once Chat lifted it slightly and pushed his hair out of the way, he couldn’t help but watch her expressions as she took a fabric pen and sketched lines across various points of the garment. If it was possible, he felt like he fell for her all over again. The urge to kiss her was growing exponentially and he had to bite his tongue to bring him back to reality. But all he could focus on were how soft her lips were and how they would feel against his.

“-at? Chat, are you listening?” Chat looked up at her eyes and she immediately rolled them. “What, cat got your tongue?”

“You have no idea, princess,” he purred and he swore he saw the light tint of pink dust over her cheeks.

“You can take the hat off now,” she repeated. Chat pouted to himself and took the fabric off of his head and handed it to her. She folded it neatly by her machine and spun her chair towards him. “What were you zoning off about, hm?” Chat took a seat next to her in her other desk chair and turned it from side to side.

“You really want to know?” he hummed. He wasn’t against telling her how he felt. He knew she already knew how Chat felt about her from their chat weeks ago. But saying it to her face was another level he was ready to cross. She nodded her head and he toyed with his tail between his fingers. “I was wondering what it would feel like to kiss you, honestly,” he confessed. The look on Marinette’s face wasn’t one to be forgotten and he wished with everything he had that he could capture a photo.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally it's slowing down and now in Adrien's pov for a little change. The middle/end of this chapter as well as the next were my favorite two to write out of the whole fic. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Marinette was quick to turn in her chair and fiddle with her sewing supplies. “W-why think about that?” she stammered. Chat turned his own chair around to sit on it backwards and rested his head on the back.

“I know Ladybug told you already,” he mumbled. “But I’ll say it again. I like you, Marinette. Sure, we don’t… talk to each other often,” he started, “but I do know you out of being Chat Noir and I’ve liked you for a while now…” Chat waited patiently for Marinette’s response and idly kicked his boots gently on the ground.

Marinette spoke but Chat could barely make out what she said. “Could you repeat that?” he leaned closer to hear her clearly.

“I… I don’t know what to say,” she turned her chair slightly to look at him.

“Give me a chance,” Chat urged. “Please? Even after you realize you’re not… interested, then we can just pretend nothing happened,” he smiled but inside he knew for sure that wouldn’t happen. Something nagged the back of his mind that something was going to happen soon that wasn’t going to be for the best, but he pushed it aside and stood off of his chair and in front of Marinette. She looked up at his eyes and Chat’s heart melted at the sight. He saw Ladybug in all of her features and now, seeing her beautiful bluebell eyes, he wondered why he never noticed them always right behind him every day in class. 

“No one has to know,” he tried to reassure her. “If… if it doesn’t work out, I mean.” He watched as she bit her lip and tore her eyes away to stare at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. 

“That’s not what I’m thinking about,” she sighed. “I… I’ve never thought about it until recently… but I think I’m feeling something for you. I don’t know what it is, but it’s there and I-”

Chat pressed a clawed fingertip to her lips and she stopped mid-sentence. “You don’t need to explain yourself, princess,” he interjected. “Despite the rumors online and in papers, it’s not Ladybug I’m in love with,” he said as he leaned closer. “It’s Marinette.” Mari could only gasp in disbelief at his words and shook her head. She couldn't believe this. Chat Noir, her partner in fighting villains, loved her as Marinette and  _ not _ Ladybug? She always knew she would be interested in Chat romantically had Adrien not been in the picture. But now that she was just getting over her huge crush on Adrien, giving Chat this chance might not turn out so bad afterall. The worst that could happen (in every situation) is their identities would be revealed. But if it’s Marinette he’s in love with and not Ladybug, she didn’t feel like she had anything to hide. But the way he said it made her feel like he already knew.

She nodded. “Okay,” she said with a small smile. “Go ahead.” Chat was taken aback and blinked in confused.

“O-okay what? You’ll go out with me?” Marinette couldn’t help but chuckle to herself before she sat up in her chair and gave Chat a quick peck on the cheek. Needless to say, Chat was speechless.

“Okay you can kiss me, but since you’re not interested anymore, I suppose-” she was immediately interrupted when Chat leaned down and kissed her properly. Marinette cupped his cheeks, the small sound of purring soon emitted from Chat’s chest. She pulled back in surprise and looked at Chat, the purring still going.

“C-Chat?” she looked at his chest and hesitantly put her hand there and felt the small rumble come from the base of his neck. His eyes were wide and looked away. “Are… you purring?” His lack of response caused her to burst into a fit of giggles. Chat simply crossed his arms and turned his head away in embarrassment. 

“Sure, make fun of the cat kid for purring,” he grumbled. It finally stopped but Marinette’s laughter hadn’t just yet. After a moment however, she was able to catch her breath and looked up at him.

“It’s cute,” she admitted. Chat just rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever you say, princess,” he mumbled. Marinette moved her hand up from his chest and up to his hair and ruffled it.

“And I’ll take you up on that offer,” she added. “But… let’s not make it a movie date. Something else?” After her experience with Adrien, first dates at a movie don’t sit well with her. Chat immediately perked up.

“How about skating? Ice specifically?” Marinette nodded in agreement. 

“Great idea,” she said as she moved her hand back down to his chest and rubbed there in slow circles. “How did you do that?” Chat looked down at her hand and shrugged.

“Not sure, it just... happened,” he admitted and rubbed the back of his head. Marinette looked up at him and leaned forward to give him a slow kiss on the cheek. The smallest bit of a vibration erupted under her hand and she smiled.

“Is this all you’re ever going to do now?” Chat faked annoyance and the bluenette nodded.

“Yep,” she said simply and removed her hand from his chest. “Does Ladybug know about it?” Chat shrugged.

“She’s heard me do it once,” he trailed off. “I lied and said it wasn’t though. Marinette giggled to herself. She figured that’s what the sound was when her and Chat were fighting Audimatrix, but she wasn’t sure. Now that she’s experienced it firsthand, she didn’t think she would ever let Chat live it down. Now she wanted to find other ways to make him purr but that would be for later. For now, she turned her chair just slightly and fiddled with the beginnings of Chat’s hat.

“Take your time with that,” he said while he backed up from Marinette’s chair. “There’s no rush.”

“It’s going to get cold soon,” was all she mumbled before she opened her sketchbook and wrote notes beside the drawing she had in mind. Chat smiled warmly at her and went over to go sit on her lounge. 

“Thank you, princess,” he hummed. “I know I’ll love it.” Mari smiled and spun her chair back around. 

“W-well… What did you want to do while you were here? Or was that it?” She didn’t mind if Chat left but she certainly didn’t want him to just yet. He shrugged before he crossed his arms behind his head.

“Not sure. Depends if you want me here or not.” The girl couldn’t form words coherently and just nodded. Chat grinned from ear to ear. “So since I’m staying, how about you do whatever it is you were doing and we’ll just talk?” Mari liked the idea and nodded again.

“Sure. Since you’re here now, I can work more on this hat for you. It’ll make it easier to keep putting it on you from time to time to be sure the measurements are correct.” Chat chuckled.

“So I’ll be your mannequin today, huh?”

“If you’re okay with that, kitty,” she spun in her chair, turned on her machine and began sewing.

 

The two teens chatted mindlessly (Chat of course was watching what he said). Marinette however was an open book. It was as if her and Chat were playing twenty questions again. Mostly they discussed pop culture, the local news, even the weather for a few moments. Neither had anything specific to chat about but they were both grateful for the other’s company. It wasn’t until Marinette was tired of sewing and stitching that she offered to play video games with him. Chat was eager to play and immediately set himself up next to Marinette and stared at the monitor. He watched as she opened her browser to download the game they agreed on and doing so allowed him to see the small tab that was their private chat room. Seeing it again sent butterflies to his stomach and he snuck a brief glance over at the girl beside him. 

“Hey, uh… Marinette?” He kept his head facing the screen and occasionally glanced over at her. “Are you… I mean...  How do you feel about… this?” he moved one hand to gesture between them. “You being, well, you and me being Chat?” Marinette tilted her head. She didn’t quite understand what he was trying to ask. He pondered his word choice and spoke again.

“What I mean is, how do you feel about… well if I wanted to tell you who I am?” He then added quickly, “Not right now! But I mean.. If we’re going to be… y’know, together, doesn’t it bother you a little? Or… something?” He felt like an idiot with how he phrased his question but he needed to know. More importantly, if she was going to ask him to reveal himself. He doubted it though, but a cat can dream.

It took Marinette a few moments to come up with her answer and when she did, she spoke sincerely. “Someday I’d like to know who you are, especially if we’re going to be together. But I trust you and I’m content with who you are with or without the mask.” She paused. “It doesn’t bother me as much as you think it would. So… on your own time, when you think we’re both ready, then… then I’d like to know who you are.” Chat couldn’t wipe the grin off his face even if he tried.

“Does.. that mean now?” Marinette gave him a side-eye glance and bit her lip. All she responded with was a shrug just as the video game was opened. Chat turned his chair towards her and gently brought a hand to her cheek which allowed her to turn her head towards him. 

“Marinette… Can I?” His eyes were full of hope and just as Marinette was going to answer, there was a loud bang just outside her bedroom. Both teens jumped in fright and peeked out the window. There, they both saw a dark purple figure screaming obscenities at various citizens who scrambled for cover. Chat nearly wanted to strangle this akuma for ruining their moment but he kept his cool and bounded up to open the hatch to the balcony. 

“Stay here, I’ve got this,” he waved her off with two fingers and jumped out immediately. As soon as he was in sight, the akumatized villain sprayed pressurized water at Chat who yelled out in surprise and ran around to avoid the spray. Not long after did Ladybug show up and yelled at the akuma.

“Don’t you know cats are afraid of water?” She tossed her yo-yo behind the villain to wrap around a beam that allowed her to launch forward and kick at the man. He growled in frustration and sprayed her down. Immediately, the water turned to a slimey goo which stuck her to the concrete. 

“Now all of Paris will suffer from rusty pipes,” he screamed out. He raised both arms up and water shot out of every fire hydrant nearby as well as any pipes running under ground and coated the area as if it were raining. Chat yelled out towards Ladybug and ran to go help her. He was just about to call for his Cataclysm before Ladybug stopped him.

“No Chat! I can get out myself. Try to distract him and figure out where the akuma is,” she ordered. Chat nodded and quickly did as he was told by leaping and bounding between street lamps and rooftops, causing the akuma to stumble and stick itself to the side of a building. Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo tight around the thick slime and it broke off the seal from the ground. She sprung up and went after Chat.

“Any idea where it’s at?” she asked and they both dodged in opposite directions as the akuma sprayed more liquid in their direction. 

“I think it’s in toolbelt!” he called out. Ladybug took a quick glance at his belt around his waist and sure enough, it was a darker color than the rest of him.

“Nice work, Chat!” She bounced between buildings and tossed her yo-yo at the villain quite a few times, the man dodging each attack. So she called upon her lucky charm and down came a pillow. She gave it a blank stare and Chat did the same.

“You’re going to lure him to sleep?” he joked. Ladybug looked from the pillow to the akuma, a fire hydrant, and a streetlamp to his direct left side that hung above him. She smirked and removed the pillowcase from the pillow. 

“Even better. Chat, get ready!” she called out and ran towards the Akuma, pillow in hand. The villain couldn’t help but laugh and teasingly asked if she was going to have a pillowfight with him. She tossed her yo-yo up at the lamp and pulled. Just as she swung over the ground, she kicked hard at one of the pipes that emerged and it coated the villain in it’s own concoction. She then pulled at the string harder and flung herself up in the air. Chat called out for his Cataclysm and just as Ladybug threw the pillow in the air above the akuma, Chat touched a corner of it and it blew up into thousands of feathers, the down sticking to the akuma and it’s weapon. While he was busy trying to clean himself off, Ladybug bagged the villain’s head in the pillowcase and grabbed at his belt on her way back down. She tore it off and out came the dark butterfly.

 

After the akuma was purified and the town was back to normal, Chat ran off to go recharge his kwami and Ladybug was left to escort the plumber in the direction of his home. As soon as he seemed to be alright, she took her time when returning home. When she landed on the balcony, she failed to notice Chat was on the rooftop nearby and watched clear as day as she detransformed. Tikki immediately hid herself and Marinette frowned, looking for the cause for her disappearance before she saw the black ears and blond hair. She suddenly paled and felt as if she was naked for all of Paris to see. But she wasn’t and it was only Chat. However, the reaction Chat had wasn’t what she expected. 

He vaulted over from where he was and onto her balcony, a concerned look on his face. “Are you alright?” She took a step back, completely unexpecting this reaction.

“Uh… y-yeah? Chat? Are you okay?” She looked over him and saw there was nothing physically wrong, so then why wasn’t he surprised?

 

Unless he already knew.

 

Marinette suddenly frowned. “Did… did you know, Chat?” she asked timidly. Chat stared into her eyes and he knew for sure that there was no point in lying. He nodded. Marinette looked around quickly and opened her door to her room and Chat jumped down inside right after Marinette. She paced her room, unsure whether to be frustrated, relieved, or upset. All three seemed to work just fine.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she freaked out. “ _ How _ did you find out anyways?” She watched as Chat sat on her bed, his legs dangled off.

“I… I saw the chat… of us when I came to visit you the other day…” he spoke timidly. “I wasn’t sure how to… or when it was a good time to say it…” He paused to connect his thoughts together. “I was going to before the akuma,” he added. Marinette couldn’t look at him and slumped on her lounge. Everything they discussed right before the akuma… Marinette’s first thought was because she was Ladybug that he was interested in her at all. Without knowing his identity and him knowing hers, she felt betrayed. Maybe even coerced into liking him because of his advantage over her.

“Is… that why you said all those things?” she spoke halfheartedly. “Because you know Ladybug is Marinette?” Chat immediately shook his head and held his arms out in defense.

“Never! Marinette, please don’t think that!” He jumped down off of her bed to stand closer. “I promise-- … If there was no Ladybug and Chat Noir, I know one hundred percent sure it would still be Marinette I’d love. Not because she’s Ladybug or because Ladybug is her. That’s just a little plus,” he grinned. “I couldn’t be any happier, honestly.” At these words, Mari couldn’t help but allow the small smile poke through her lips.

“Really…?” she briefly glanced up at her partner and the soft expression he gave her was all the answer she needed. Chat sat down beside her and comforted her with slow rubs across her back.

“So… Should I suggest revealing myself or is that still out of the question?” He was half joking and half serious considering the situation. Marinette shrugged.

“I’m not sure… I… still don’t think I’m ready. Sorry, kitty,” she sighed. “Sometime soon though. Just… I’ve got a lot to think about is all.”

“Take your time, Marinette. It was huge when I found out, sure, on accident, but still. Just call me up when you’re ready,” he grinned, an idea in his mind. “Literally, call me up.” He stood to retrieve a pen and notepad and wrote his phone number down and folded it before giving it to her. “When you think you’re ready to know, this number alone should tell you. But I’ll still be  _ chatting _ with you anyways.” Marinette chuckled at his silly pun and took the note. In her hand rested the answer to every question she had. She was tempted to have him tell her now, but she knew she would need to take it one step at a time. If she could trust him, he could trust her. It wasn’t until now she realized how much he did put so much trust in her. As dangerous as it is to know their identities, there’s always the positive things too. So she could only imagine how happy her partner was just to have her consider this huge piece of information. She wondered if she would soon enough feel the same.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's out of character for Mari or Adrien to transform without being careful, but to be fair, nearly half of Paris should have been witness to either of their transformations in the show by now (especially the newest ep with Alya's sisters). Just sayin'.


	7. Chapter 7

The rest of their evening felt warm and content to both teens. While Marinette was sketching her design for Chat’s sweater, he was satisfied with simply watching her work. Occasionally they would busy themselves with a polite conversation, but most of it was spent in pleasant silence. Chat was the one to initiate the conversations, usually pertaining to Marinette’s identity and how she managed to balance her civilian life while being a superhero. Needless to say, he was surprised. He did as his lady wished and held back any information regarding his identity, however, he did steal brief glances at his phone number that sat on her desk, just inches from her hands. They mostly spoke about school, projects, those things of the sort. Not once was Adrien mentioned and Chat was sort of relieved. If his identity was brought up in any conversation, he wasn’t sure he trusted himself well enough to hold back his secret. Not with how it was sitting at the tip of his tongue the entire night anyways.

 

When it was near midnight, Marinette was the one that persisted on Chat leaving. She was concerned that his family might be worried up until he said that they didn’t know he was gone nor would they care much. At that statement, she frowned and gave him a tight hug.

“No one should have to say something like that,” she mumbled into his chest. Chat smiled softly and brushed his fingers through her hair.

“I’d be happy to stay,” he murmured. “That is, if you allow me.” Marinette nodded her head and slowly removed herself from him only to be pulled back in a tight embrace.

“Thank you.” He gave one last tight squeeze before finally releasing her.

“I can sleep on the lounge,” she said, followed by a large yawn. Chat gently guided her towards her bed.

“No, sleep in your bed, princess. I’ll have to leave sometime overnight anyways or before you get up.” Marinette grumbled but agreed and climbed up the ladder.

“Then sleep here until you leave at least,” she mumbled. “The lounge wouldn’t be comfortable for you.” Chat raised a brow in question if it was alright or not. He was met with a tug on his arm and the tumble onto his bed was his answer. He chuckled lightly and adjusted himself towards the wall to give Marinette space and handed her the blanket. She pulled it over her shoulder and with the rest, held it up as an invitation for Chat to get under as well. As much as he would hate to admit it, the purring began again and Marinette’s soft chuckles didn’t help.

“You know I can’t help it,” he groaned aloud. She scooted closer towards the blond hero and rested her head beside his chest.

“I know,” she whispered. Chat waited until she was comfortable before he rested his hand on her back and rubbed small circles there. The soft vibrations in his chest lulled her to a deep sleep and Chat soon followed after.

* * *

 

Near the early hours of the morning, Chat woke up to the faint beeping of his ring that signaled the end of his transformation. In a flash of green, Plagg tumbled out and sprawled out in fatigue.

“Next time make sure you’re you when you’re sleeping,” he whined out. Adrien pressed a finger to his lips and signaled him to hush. He turned his eyes up at Marinette, who was thankfully looking away, and was sound asleep.

“Think you can find the other miraculous and get some food from them?” he whispered as he shifted out from holding Marinette. Plagg zipped around the room and called out for Tikki. Adrien watched as a speck of red and black flew with Plagg downstairs to which he assumed would be the kitchen. The bluenette then shifted and held her pillow closer to her chest, altering Adrien’s focus. Adrien carefully removed his arm from under her and shifted down towards the edge of the bed. He wondered if he should wake her now before she wakes herself and sees who’s on her bed.

“Probably should,” he muttered to himself as he leaned over and gently shook her shoulder. “Marinette, wake up.” After a minute or so of coercing her out of sleep, she blinked her eyes open and just as she was going to turn around, a blanket was shoved over her head. She groaned tiredly and curled her legs back in.

“What is it, Chat?” she grumbled.

“I’m out of transformation and my miraculous is charging up now. I wanted to warn you before you woke and saw for yourself,” he said. As soon as those words escaped his mouth, Marinette understood and held the blanket tighter against her head.

“You can lay back down,” she yawned. “So tired…” Adrien couldn’t help the smile that appeared across his face. A brief thought flitted across his mind of waking up to this every morning; without a blanket in the way. That was something to look forward to for sure. With that, he immediately took up on her offer and adjusted the blanket so it wouldn’t come down. With a bit of shifting, he managed to put himself in their position before he woke, with him holding her close to his chest. She sighed in content and scooted back as close as she could against him.

“Maybe one day this’ll happen without the blanket here,” Adrien thought aloud. Marinette simply hummed as a response and shrugged.

“Soon, Chat… it’s a lot to take in,” she said quietly.

“I understand,” Adrien responded with a light kiss to the back of her head. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thank you.” Marinette shifted her legs before turning her torso around to face Adrien, the blanket still covered her face. Adrien rubbed circles into her waist and closed his eyes when he felt comfortable.

“No need to thank me, Princess. I know you’d do the same.” She would, too, if it was something Chat wanted. But for now, with Chat knowing her identity, she felt exposed. She wasn’t upset, but more on edge from someone else now knowing her secret. But Chat did have a point. He had a secret of his own to keep, so there shouldn’t be any big deal with him keeping hers and vice versa. But for now, she simply felt overwhelmed and there was no rush for her to find out who her partner all this time really is. Her entire life could change with the movement of one blanket and frankly, she wasn’t ready.

Plagg and Tikki entered the room, both arguing about something meaningless.

“You charged up, Plagg?” Adrien watched as his kwami sat on his master’s knee with a large yawn and Tikki waved a tiny hello before she disappeared to rest.

“Mm yeah. Try not to stay up too long. We need our sleep too, y’know.” Adrien rolled his eyes and called upon his suit again. When it was safe, he inched the blanket back down and Marinette made sure to see the cat ears before she allowed the entire cover to be removed.

“Thanks, Chat,” she mumbled as she rubbed her eye. “What time is it anyways?” Chat glanced at the clock and groaned.

“Almost eight. Guess I should go, huh?” he said with a slight dejected tone in his voice. Marinette sat up and stretched her arms out, stiff bones cracked in the process.

“I wouldn’t mind some company for a little while. I do have to prepare myself for this birthday party for my friend Alya, though.” Crap. Adrien forgot all about the party, including a gift. The party didn’t start until around five that evening, so he should have enough time to squeeze in some shopping on his way there after his piano lessons. If he said a word that revealed he knew about the party, he would be toast.

“I have plans later this afternoon anyways. See you late tonight?” He already knew that answer.

Marinette shook her head. “It’s a sleep-over type of party,” she responded. “I’ll be spending the night there along with a couple other friends from class.” Chat twirled his tail between his fingertips.

“Call me if there’s any problem,” he said with a wink and Marinette rolled her eyes.

“In your dreams, kitty.” She eventually stood up to stretch her torso. “I’ll see you tomorrow for patrol?” Chat nodded with a wide smile.

“Of course.” He blew her a kiss before he jumped out of her room through the hatch and vaulted off of the balcony before she could slip in another word.

 

The day of the Party, Marinette showed up to Alya’s house about an hour or so early. Alya was thankful, all of the decorations not up just yet. Marinette was happy to finish with her friend and carefully set her two gifts down on the coffee table and they began the work. One would think it was strange for the birthday girl to put up her own decorations, but Alya didn’t mind and doing so put her in the party mood. They set up strings of tied balloons across hallways, some streamers hanging from various points in the ceiling, and set up mini party hats on the tables and counter tops.

Alya had explained that her parents took her little sisters out all day and were going to sleep at their grandma’s house. It was Alya’s sixteenth birthday party and after her begging for months, they eventually gave in under strict rules. They can pop in at any time and no substance abuse of any sort. Alya was completely fine with that; she knew none of her friends were into that sort of thing (that she knew of anyways). Marinette was happy to provide snacks of course. She baked them all just after Chat had left her that night and finished up the final details earlier that morning.

 

Once the last streamer was taped to the ceiling, the first guest arrived with the ringing of the doorbell. The party was meant to start at five, but there was no harm in showing up just a few minutes early. When Marinette opened the door, Ivan and Mylene smiled at her and entered when gestured to. They set their wrapped gifts on the coffee table next to Marinette’s and wished Alya a happy birthday. Alya thanked them and asked if they wanted anything to drink. Mylene declined but Ivan asked for a water which Marinette was persistent on supplying it for him. It was Alya’s party, naturally she would be the host, but Mari thought that was stupid and that she should be the one to enjoy herself. The couple sat down on the couch and idly chatted to each other. During that time, Alya decided she was going to shower and get herself ready so Marinette took over in preparing the minor details. Setting up the platters of food, the movie disk in the player, and setting up various drinks along the counter for their friends to take whenever.

Once it was all set up, Mari took a seat next to the couple and they talked briefly about their recent assignment before there was another knock at the door. Nino waved at Marinette and asked where Alya was, to which she replied that she was getting ready. Nino made a side comment about how long girls take and Marinette just laughed. He set his gift down beside everyone else’s and helped himself to the food and drinks before he took his seat on the couch.

Soon, more of their classmates and friends filled up the small apartment and each greeted Marinette with a warm smile. But she didn’t see the face she was hoping for all night.

 

By the time Alya was finished and out of the bathroom, all of the guests, spare one, were all chatting about around the pile of gifts. As soon as Rose saw Alya peek around the corner of the hall, she chanted out a loud “Happy birthday!” to which everyone followed. Alya thanked them and sat between Alix and Nathaniel.

“What are we doing first?” Marinette asked her friend. There was still no sign of the blond boy so Alya asked Nino to send him a text to find out where he’s at. Alya shrugged and looked at the pile of gifts.

“I kind of want to open these, but I’ll wait until after Adrien gets here or when the cake is served,” she answered. The group was content with the response and they collectively decided to start the movie. Alya happily agreed and switched her seat around on the couch to sit beside Nino with Ivan and Mylene still beside them. Marinette was happy on the floor next to the couch and the other five, Rose, Juleka, Alix, Max, and Nathanael, all took the chairs from the dining table to sit on either side of the couch.

 

Over the course of the movie, not much happened between the group of friends. At times, some would get up for some snacks, drinks, or for a good stretch and sit back down. All seemed to be enjoying themselves, except Marinette. But she couldn’t dare tell Alya that. The party was about Alya and only her, who cares whether the crush of her dreams showed up? By this point she wasn’t even sure how she felt with Adrien. In her left pocket rested the phone number Chat gave her. A couple times through the movie she was tempted to text him and invite him over. Alya didn’t mind anyone at her party as long as there were less than twenty people and Chloe wasn’t invited, so there was no harm. If he did show up, Marinette could say something like it was someone she met a while ago or… something. She wasn’t sure what lie to use if questioned from Alya, but it wouldn’t matter. She couldn’t bring it in herself to text the number just yet.

Nino never received a response from Adrien either. The group could only assume that he wasn’t allowed to go or had a change of plans.

However, it was Marinette that _did_ receive a message. She quickly silenced her phone and read the text.

 

[Adrien]: Sorry, running late. Had to pick up her gift. Will be there in 5. :)

 

Marinette read it over what felt like a hundred times before she relayed the information to her best friend. Alya sighed in relief, thankful that he was showing up and Marinette didn’t have to sulk on the floor anymore. In fact, despite being the entire night about Alya, she had some plans up her sleeve in order to get Marinette and Adrien alone together. She wasn’t stupid though. If Marinette ever felt wind of her plans, she would screw them all up. No, this time she had to just go along with Alya. It was foolproof that it would work. Or better yet, Marinette-proof. There was no way Adrien didn’t see something in Marinette. Alya was secretive in asking Nino to ask Adrien about her and all she got a response was ‘she’s an amazing girl.’ No way could Adrien think that and _not_ think about being with her. So if Adrien hadn’t shown up, her plans would have been ruined and to be honest, the party wouldn’t have been as fun.

It was already near the end of the movie when Marinette received the text, so just as the credits started to roll, there was a quick knock on the door. Alya politely asked Marinette to get it and she did, only wobbling at the knees when she saw Adrien on the other side. Yep, still crushing dead on him. He greeted Marinette with a smile and she responded with a blubber about the gifts on the table and when she had trouble finishing her sentence, she just gestured weakly towards the group of students who waved happily at the model.

Once Adrien was finally settled, Alya released a long, exaggerated sigh.

“I’m bored,” she started. “Let’s all play a game.” She heard murmurs around the group and scooted up in her seat. “I say, let’s lay truth or dare.”

Marinette paled in the face and Adrien had a Chat-like grin spread wide on his face.

The group decided to circle in the chairs to face the couch, Marinette and Adrien still stuck on the floor together. Neither minded though, they found it quite comfortable to sit on a pillow. Since she was the birthday girl and host of the party, Alya went first and pointed towards Marinette.

“Marinette, truth or dare?” she asked with a knowing smirk. Whichever Mari decided to pick, she knew she would be in trouble. She decided on the least harsh of the two.

“Truth,” she mumbled and Alya leaned forward.

“Who do you have a crush on?” Marinette froze, all of her classmates staring at her, including Adrien. As soon as she saw his face, the color drained from her cheeks and she panicked.

“C-Chat Noir!” she called out. The entire group widened their eyes in surprise and Alya’s jaw dropped.

“You can’t lie, Marinette,” she warned and Mari nodded her head vigorously.

“I-I’m telling the truth,” she stammered and hid her face as soon as she saw Adrien’s face. He looked relieved for some reason and somewhere inside of her, she felt her heart break. But some other part of her felt she wasn’t lying. Not just because Chat knows her identity, but because of everything else piled on top of that about Chat geared her towards him more than Adrien.

“Huh… Alright, I guess,” Alya said, a bit disappointed. No matter, the circle would come back to Marinette eventually and then she could hopefully hit her with another truth or even better, a dare.

Next up was Nino’s turn to ask Alya. She said dare, not scared of anything. Her dare was to show the fifth to last photo in her phone to her group, which happened to be a nice selfie of her and her sisters. The group awed and she sighed, expecting worse from Nino.

The group all took their turn calling out truths or dares. Some were funny to watch, others were just stories and silly answers to questions.

“Adrien, truth or dare?” Rose asked.

“Uh, truth I guess,” he shrugged. It was his first time playing, but watching the others gave him a good idea how it was played.

“Umm… What’s something huge you’ve lied about?” Adrien had to think deep about how to word his answer.

“I guess… I knew a friend’s secret when I shouldn’t have… and because of that, while I didn’t really lie to her, it was still… wrong. I think she forgave me though,” he responded. Alix rolled her eyes at the innocent response and Marinette could only wonder what the lie was and who the girl was. Chloe, maybe? But the blonde girl could never get upset at Adrien, so she was ruled out. It wasn’t long that the bluenette was left to her own thoughts until Alya had the hot seat again. It wasn’t until then that the party really began to start.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

“Marinette!” Alya called. “Truth or dare?”

“I guess dare this time,” she said nervously and held her bag close to her for a form of comfort.

Alya pointed at her friend and then at Adrien beside her. “I want you two to go in my room. Alone. For seven minutes,” she finished with a wiggle of her brows. Nearly everyone except the victims began to laugh. Marinette’s face was turning a new shade of red every second and Adrien looked confused amongst the teenagers.

“Go on, get to it!” Alya stood and ushered the duo into her bedroom. Once they were inside, she closed and locked the door. Marinette’s eyes widened and tried the knob, but it was no use. Adrien watched her struggle for a moment before he spoke.

“Don't worry about it, Marinette,” he spoke softly with a smile. “Why are you so worried, anyways?”

“I'm not worried! I-I just… This is embarrassing,” she sighed. “I shouldn't have said dare…” She slumped down against the door, defeated. Adrien sat down beside her and she was quick to pull her knees into her chest.

“Why? Is this some joke or something? Being locked in a closet?”

“Wait- you don't know what seven minutes in heaven is?” She stammered. The blond shook his head innocently and Mari bit her lip. “It's where two people are locked in a closet together and… they're expected to uh…” She swallowed, unable to finish the sentence.

“To what?” Adrien still didn't understand. If he was making her uncomfortable, he needed to know.

“T-they uh… are expected to y’know… kiss n’stuff,” she mumbled, barely audible but Adrien heard every word. He pointed at the door to the closet, towards the group of teens.

“That’s what they want us to do?” He was asking more for confirmation. If he was going to make a fool of himself, he might as well have a reason. Marinette just gave him a shy nod. “Well… then should we?” Her response was a hand up to her mouth.

“I-I uh… Are you s-sure? We don’t really _have_ to we could just say we did-”

“I don’t mind, Marinette,” Adrien said with a smile. “Besides, it could be fun.” After he spoke, he began to lean in towards her as just as their lips were a hair’s breath apart, Mari backed away.

“I can’t,” she murmured against her knees pulled up to her chest. Adrien did a poor job of hiding his disappointment and Mari reminded herself to not give in. “I… There’s someone else… and I don’t want to betray his trust…”

For a split second, Adrien was about to be upset, furious that someone else took her heart and not him. Until it dawned on him that he was just cock-blocking himself (despite it not being about sex, the saying still applied). He burst into a fit of laughter and held his stomach. Marinette just watched with a puzzled look on her face. It took Adrien a moment before he collected himself.

“I understand, Marinette,” he started. “There’s this girl for me too. I’m just waiting until she… well… likes me back, I guess.” He shrugged it off and shifted in the small closet. “So, who is it?”

The girl bit her lip and looked down at the small light emerging from the bottom of the door. “You’ll laugh.”

“I promise I won’t.”

She mumbled her answer. Adrien raised a brow and tilted his head closer to her. “I didn’t catch that.”

“Chat Noir,” she said just a bit louder. Adrien shrugged and leaned back.

“You said you liked him earlier. You two are uh... Close?”

“I guess so,” she said. “We… talk sometimes.” Of all people, why was she confessing how she felt about Chat Noir to Adrien? She couldn’t have felt any more embarrassed about the situation and that was saying a lot.

“What’s so special about him?” If Marinette didn’t know any better, she would say that Adrien was annoyed. She felt apologetic and wished she hadn’t avoided his kiss in the first place. But then that would cause much more turmoil in her mind than now.

“He… He’s silly, that’s for sure,” she started. “I wasn’t sure I saw him as a real… person with feelings at first. More just… saving the day and carrying on with his life. But then something changed and for a while now he’s shown me what a kind person he is… sweet too and caring.”

“Why aren’t you two together, then?” Adrien tilted his head. The question of the century.

Marinette breathed a soft laugh. “I’m not sure… It’s complicated I guess. Him being a hero and all and me being… well… me. He…” she paused, unsure how much she could reveal to Adrien but decided why not. “He wants to reveal himself to me. I-I have his phone number. He said if I call it, I’ll know who he is. I’m scared is all,” she mumbled. “Not that I won’t like who he is, I know I will. But what if it doesn’t… work out? What if he sees me as someone I’m not?” She bit the inside of her cheek. She had to be careful with her words, otherwise Adrien could potentially catch on.

“I’d say go for it,” he shrugged. “If he trusts you enough to tell you who he is and you trust him enough to… to love you for who you are, then you should definitely go for it.”

If Marinette had known at that time that Chat was Adrien, there wouldn’t have been any doubt about calling the number after what he said. But with his words sounding more meaningful than they should have about the situation, something sparked in her mind that urged her to call the number.

“Should I?” Without missing a beat, Adrien nodded.

“In your own time, when you’re ready I think Chat will wait however long it takes. You’re worth it,” he said with a smile. Just then, light flooded the small closet and the duo covered their eyes.

“Really? You guys just talked the entire time?” Alya said, obviously disappointed. “Lame. Well half of all the good dares were done, so we’re just about to start gifts.” Marinette gave a side-eye glance at Adrien and stood to help Alya organize the various shaped boxes. Adrien took his time getting out of the closet and only hoped what he said would allow her to feel more comfortable about a reveal. His words were true though, and he would wait however long it took until she was ready.

* * *

 

The group of teens took their respective seats all around the coffee table, Adrien and Marinette on their knees on the floor, all singing happy birthday to Alya. Once the song was over, the candles on her cake were blown out and one by one, the gifts were handed to her. Ivan was kind enough to hold the trash bag for all of the wrapping paper.

Marinette asked the group to all fit around a theme. Something Alya loved to do. Everyone’s first thought was ‘reporting.’ Alya made a kick-ass reporter when it came to updating the LadyBlog. So with that theme in mind, the entire group gifted their friend with things to help her accomplish the job. A pen with notes inside, a new camera, a small recorder, and last but not least, the bag Marinette designed to hold all of the items together. Alya thanked each and every one of her friends, up until it was Adrien’s turn. He was aware of the themed gifts but decided Alya might like something else. And as Chat Noir himself, he couldn’t miss the opportunity to give his friend something from her second favorite hero.

“Chat asked me to hand it to you,” he said casually. “When I was on my way here.” Alya’s jaw dropped and shrieked about how Chat knew it was her birthday in the first place. She opened the small box and inside was a letter and a hardcover notepad with a ladybug pattern dotted across. “He told me to tell you to read the letter in private,” he added. Alya hugged the notepad close and asked Adrien to thank Chat for her. Under the notepad, however, there was a bundle of photographs of Chat Noir and Alya busted into laughter.

“Wait, you got me the notepad, right?” she asked. Adrien nodded and Alya laughed harder before she showed the photos on display for the group to see. Adrien bit his lip in embarrassment and sank down to the ground as each individual inspected the photographs of Chat posing. It was a silly idea, giving her photos of himself, but it is something Chat would do to a mutual friend and she seemed to enjoy it, so there was no harm. He watched as the group passed the photos along up until it was Marinette’s turn to view them. Immediately a blush dusted across her cheeks and she quickly handed them to Adrien, who skimmed them, and passed them along the line. After they were back in their owner’s hands, Alya carefully tucked them back into the box and placed the notepad into its designated pocket.

“Thank you guys so much,” she grinned. “You’re all the best.” She gave Marinette a hug on the ground and stood to go put her gifts away in her room. Once returned, the paper plates and plastic forks were busted out and the teens dug into the vanilla cake. Another movie was turned on, more for background noise this time, as the group disbanded and all sat in various places of the living room. Marinette sat down on the balcony outside and after Adrien received his piece of cake, he knocked on the glass behind her. She jumped briefly and waved for him to join once she saw who it was. He stepped outside beside her and crossed his legs to sit on the ground.

“Decide what you’re going to do?” he asked when he saw the familiar slip of paper in her hands. After a long pause she finally nodded and opened the slip.

Adrien held his breath as she pulled her phone out and carefully dialed the number. As soon she entered the last digit, she closed her eyes shut and scrunched the paper in her fist.

“Are you sure it’ll work out?” she asked him.

“I’m sure,” he reassured her. She took a deep breath and pressed ‘call’ on her phone and held it tight against her ear. Adrien stiffened up and patted his pockets, his phone no where to be felt. Suddenly he felt this was the wrong time up until there was another knock on the glass. Alix opened the door a crack, just enough to slip the vibrating phone into Adrien’s hand. Adrien took it with a quiet thank you and stared at the caller I.D.

 

‘Marinette’

 

With a deep breath, he dragged up on ‘answer’ and pressed it up against his ear. Marinette released her held breath when the ringing stopped in her own ear.

“Hello?” Adrien said as he kept his eyes fixated on the city lights.

“Chat,” Marinette whispered in both his ear and beside him and she turned her head towards Adrien as slow as she could.

“Hey, Ladybug,” he said with a smile.

The clatter of a phone behind dropped caught his attention. Adrien glanced over at Marinette who held a stunned gaze at the blond and with her shaking hand, was trying to point at him.

“Y-y-ou ar-are…” she stammered. “O-oh god.” Adrien set his phone down and looked back at the lights.

“You’re disappointed?” he said more as a question than a statement. Marinette was quick to shake her head and held her hands together in her lap to try to stop the shaking.

“No! No no no! I-I… _Oh_ god,” she gasped. “I told you! Everything!” Her eyes became horrified. “I-in the chat and… and in the closet…!” Adrien held his hands up, an attempt to reassure her.

“Marinette, it’s fine,” he said with a wide smile. “Everything’s… everything is totally perfect.” She hesitated at first, but eventually looked up to his eyes.

“...Why do you say that? Everything I said about you- about Chat--” Adrien cut her off.

“That’s how I felt when I found out too,” he started. “Can you believe it? The two most amazing girls happen to be the same person. And with you… saying what you said about me and Chat? Sounds like this kind of stuff wasn’t by chance, huh?” His grin never left his face.

“I can’t… believe it,” she quieted down and to Adrien’s surprise, began laughing. One could almost say she was insane.

“I-I didn’t kiss you because I felt I was cheating on you,” she stammered through breathless giggles. At this, --Adrien gave her a strange look until he understood what she meant. He released a few breathy chuckles himself and shrugged.

“No big deal,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of time for that now.” He winked at her and she flushed scarlet red.

“A-Adrien!” she scolded. In that instant, she saw Chat more than Adrien and to her relief, was more than just okay with it. It was perfect. She sighed and spread the icing around her plate.

“I’m glad it’s you,” she mumbled.

“I’m glad it’s you,” Adrien repeated. They scooted closer beside each other and finished their cake in silent bliss. After Adrien cleaned his plate, he set it on the ground and fiddled his thumbs together.

“So… are we… together?” he asked slowly. Mari turned her head and without a pause, nodded with a smile.

“We are,” she confirmed. Adrien smiled and released the breath he’d been holding.

“Wonder how Alya will react.” Marinette laughed. Despite Adrien and Chat being the same person, she still felt shy around him but considerably less so now. Now that this fat secret on both parts were out of the way, there was no need to hide anything else.

“Now I get why you talked so much about Adrien to Chat,” Adrien mumbled, more to himself than to Marinette. She still heard it and a blush plastered itself over her face.

“S-shut up!” she turned away from him. “I couldn’t help it! Besides, it’s not like I knew I was telling Adrien about my gigantic crush on him.” Adrien chuckled and rested an arm over her shoulders.

“It’s alright, Mari, I said the same thing about you. As Chat anyways.” A wide grin then appeared on his face. “Which means you’ve technically kissed me twice now, even though I don’t remember the first time,” he ended with a pout, recalling the photos he saw during the interview on television.

“You’re right,” Marinette murmured. “I knew about that though, you just thought it was two different girls.” Adrien shrugged.

“Makes me happier that they’re the same.” Marinette smiled up at him and the two teens leaned forward. Just as their lips brushed, Marinette scraped a dollop of icing on his nose and back out to laugh. Adrien gasped and wiped it off and returned the favor.

 

Meanwhile, inside, the entire group of friends stared out the glass door in awe, Alya being the first to speak.

“ _Finally!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I cleared up any details in previous comments as I've said before, the first couple of chapters aren't good in my opinion. The entire story was super rushed, only starting it on the 9th of December and wanting to finish it by Christmas (wasn't done until two weeks ago though R.I.P.). I'm glad y'all hopefully enjoyed it and hope you guys have a great day :)


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